Daughter of Dionysus
by Just Another Fanatic
Summary: Mary-Ann just found out she's a half-blood.  Now she's on a quest with Dawn  who is unclaimed , Braxton  a son of Eris , and Troy  the satyr who can't smell .  She just hopes she can survive the journey.
1. I Throw My Art Teacher Into a Kiln

**So, for those of you that know me, this is where a lot of my time has been spent, writing this. For those of you that don't know me, nice to meet you. Hope you like it.**

**This is a PJO universe fic. I began writing this before Heroes of Olympus came out, and didn't feel like changing it to fit that, so read this as if The Lost Hero never happened.**

**For those that are wondering, there will be appearances of Percy, Annabeth, and others, but they won't be the main focus. Nor will my characters become best friends with them. For those that don't like reading about OCs, this probably isn't for you. But, I usually have trouble writing the main characters because I don't know if that's what the author would have wanted.**

**Disclaimer: I'm not Rick Riordan and I don't own anything from Percy Jackson, so all character's from that (aside from the gods and anything from the myths because those are public domain... so basically, the demi-gods from that and Rachel). I do, however, own Dawn, Mary-Ann, Troy, and any other main character that you don't recognize.**

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Mary-Ann: I Throw My Art Teacher Into a Kiln

I was what you would call a 'troubled' youth. Emphasis on the trouble. I could tell from a young age that my mother resented me. All she ever really saw me as was an annoyance. She tried to have me aborted... three times. Twice legally, but when neither of those worked (baffling the doctors) and the legal aborting period was over, she went to an underground doctor. He ended up in jail and I ended still being born a healthy, loud baby.

There were a number of reasons that my mother resented me. To list a few:

She was a single mother that drank and became pregnant shortly after she became legal to drink (totally her fault).

She always hated children (she even hates all my cousins).

She thinks women are the inferior race (every time I find out she has _another_ boyfriend, I know he's going to leave her because she's going to let him walk all over her, use her, and then move on to greener pastures with perkier breasts).

I have dyslexia. And ADHD.

We're broke poor (but maybe if she accepted help from her parents we wouldn't be).

While my grandparents do actually love me and buy me _nice_ things, they won't raise me unless my mother got hurt or died. They didn't let her put me up for adoption either, threatening to change their will so that she's written out and I'm written in. They have, however, offered for my mother and me to move in with them (multiples times). My mother, however, doesn't want to be the only child of three that needs help from her parents.

So, instead, we live in what is best described as a hole in the wall, and loosely called an apartment. Because the schools around us don't have good programs for kids with dyslexia, I'm stuck always being confused in class. I get made fun of a lot for some of the stupid questions I ask, but as none of my past teachers had very clear handwriting, and don't make very good spaces, I often can't make out which letters go in which word. When the spaces are clear, it's easy to tell what the shorter words are, and most words are short enough. But when I can't distinguish where the spaces are, well, there are only two options, not understand what is on the board or ask. Only one teacher ever adjusted the way she wrote to accommodate me, and that was my sixth grade teacher. Unfortunately, I passed that level and moved on to the seventh grade, which is where my story begins, with a month left in the school-year.

I sat cross-legged on the bathroom counter, a small amount of make-up in front of me. Just a light blush, eye-liner (in a medium brown), and mascara because that's all my grandmother will get for me until I'm fifteen, which is almost two years away.

"Why are you even putting on make-up, girl?" my mother asked, spotting me when she entered to take her morning shower. As you can tell, from the so endearing 'girl' comment, she obviously cares enough about me to know what gender I am.

"Because it makes me look older," I replied.

"You know what would really make you look older," my mother said. "If you took your hair out of those ridiculous buns."

Admittedly, I do wear my hair in two messy buns on either side of my head, and add that to he fact that my hair is bright red, well, it doesn't really do much to help me look any older. However, I ignored my mother as I carefully traced my gold-flecked green eyes with the eyeliner. A quick swipe of the blush so I don't look too pale, and a quick job of mascara, I hopped off the counter to leave the bathroom to my mother. It was time for me to leave anyway.

I ran into my room, quickly exchanging my make-up for my book bag, and then walked out, making sure I had the apartment key as I left. My best friend was already waiting in the hall for me.

Dawn smirked at me when I walked out. She lives in the building next to mine. Because each individual building is owned by different people, while my building is really crappy (the front door doesn't even lock), Dawn's building is amazing, as in it has security and doesn't smell like dirty gym socks in the halls.

Dawn and I have similar circumstances. She also has ADHD (though not dyslexia), and we both have no idea who our fathers are. However, unlike me, Dawn does live with her grandmother, mostly because Dawn's mother is a super famous train robber and is on the run from the law. She used to bring Dawn along with her on her adventures, but when she made the FBI's most wanted list, Dawn's mother decided to give Dawn a 'stable' life.

"How'd you get in?" I asked, even though I knew a kid in diapers would have no problem breaking into the building.

"Magic, Mary-Ann," Dawn replied with a smirk. Dawn always looked amazing. She's got an almost elfish face with high arched eye brows, a thin nose, and pointed chin. Her hair is dark brown, which she usually wears in a low pony-tail to the left so it falls in front of her shoulder. Her eyes are bright blue and sort of shine on their own. Today she was wearing a bright orange tee, a black suit vest, and black and white plaid pants with black flats. She always wears two pieces of jewelry, a white gold and yellow gold Star of David with a heart for one of the triangles necklace, and a gold ring with a yellow stone that was a gift from her mother. She suspected the ring might actually have been given to her mother from her father, but she never knew for sure.

"Funny," I said. We hurried outside and to the bus stop where several other kids from our school were standing. However, there was a new edition to the bunch. A kid probably our age. The other kids were all standing back from him, and whispering. It was weird with such a short amount of time left before the end of the year for someone to transfer.

"Nice skirt, Weston," George Michaels said when Dawn and I arrived. I was wearing a black mini-skirt over a pair of jean flares. "Too bad you blocked the view with those denims."

"I like it," the new kid said. He was kind of cute, I guess. He had a thin face with brown eyes and a massive jew-fro. He only had a notebook with him. George voiced my thoughts.

"Hey, new kid, keeping your pens and pencils in your hair?"

Dawn rolled her blue eyes. "Ignore the ogre," she said. Unlike me, people generally listened to Dawn when she talked. It was either because she was pretty, smart, funny, energetic, and all around cool, or they were afraid her mother might decide to take a break from train robbing to teach them a lesson. Anyway, George turned away and started talking with a few of his lughead friends. Dawn turned to the new kid. "I'm Dawn Westbrook. This is Mary-Ann Weston."

"My name is Troy," he said.

"Like the character from _High School Musical_?" I blurted out stupidly. Dawn hung her head for a moment. I will admit, I watched the Disney Channel every once in a while... or more like every afternoon between me getting home before my mom does. It's a habit I've been trying to get out of.

Troy, however, just gave me a blank stare. "I don't know," he said. "I'm not sure what that is."

"That makes you a lucky one," Dawn said quickly before quickly changing the subject. "So, where did you come from?"

He pointed at a building two down from Dawn's. "Apartment 205."

"I think she means before you moved here," I said.

"Oh..." Troy blushed a bit. "New Jersey."

"Cool," Dawn said. "I was there once. Only saw it from the windows of a train. Ever been to Manhattan?"

He nodded. "Went there a lot actually."

"I love it there," Dawn said. I sighed. She had spent a lot of time there before her mother brought her here. "When I grow up, I'm going to move there and be on broadway." Stars filled her eyes, as she thought about her lifelong dream of being on stage in front of hundreds. Personally, it sounded like a high risk job to me... and repetitive. Singing the same songs, repeating the same lines, and if you mess up, you could ruin the whole show. I would never be able to handle the pressure.

"Broadway? Really?" Troy asked. "What's the lure of that?"

"She's a great singer," I said. "And a great actress. Actually, she's great at just about everything she does."

"Talking down bullies included?" Troy questioned. George Michaels was still mumbling with his thug friends. I knew they were planning some sort of revenge for when Dawn wasn't around.

Finally, the bus pulled up and people started to get on. I noticed that Troy seemed to limp when he walked. I decided not to question it.

Classes were, as always, boring. My dyslexia really messed me up in math when I was getting the sequencing of numbers wrong. Unfortunately, I don't have Dawn in most of my classes. Just my Spanish class (and the only reason I'm not failing is because she helps me with it).

Troy, however, ended up in class with me. He sat next to me in every class, and whenever we were free to talk, he would ask me all about Dawn. It was kind of annoying, especially as I use the free time to finish taking notes and try to start homework. Or to ask the teacher about half of what is on the board. At least he seemed to be taking thorough notes, so maybe I would just ask to borrow his.

As we were walking toward art (the only class I was any good at), Troy asked, "Do you have dyslexia?"

"Yes," I said. "I do. Thanks for noticing. And before you ask, no, Dawn doesn't."

Oddly, his face fell a little at that. I didn't mention it, but I finally brought up his limp.

"Oh, I have a muscle disorder in my legs. It limits my ability to use my legs. I often have to use crutches, but today they were actually feeling okay so I went without them."

"That sucks," I said. "I guess you won't be able to keep up in the mile run."

"I don't have to participate in PE," Troy said.

"That's lucky," I said. "I'd love to get out of that class."

Once we were seated at the easels, blank canvases in front of us, our teacher, Ms. Whisk told us to close our eyes and imagine. She was a short woman with a bit of hunch at both shoulders. She wasn't number one on personal hygiene, and she really needed to clip and clean her fingernails. She began to hum a bit, and continued to speak. "Picture anything, but something with meaning. Don't think about what the meaning is, or even what it is. Just picture it." She waited a moment, then said, "Okay, open your eyes and paint it. Don't draw it first, just paint."

At every table there was a huge color palette with tons of colors. I grabbed a brush and dipped it into a dark red color. I quickly started painting as Ms. Whisk snapped at a few kids who hadn't started immediately.

Behind me, I could tell the George was ignoring Ms. Whisk's instructions, a he and a few of his friends were laughing. I heard one of them say, "add a zit there," and another saying "no, make the nose a big snout."

"Boys, this isn't a group assignment," Ms. Whisk said, walking over to them. I glanced back to see she was looking at their painting. "What are you painting, anyway?"

"My interpretation of Mary-Ann," George said. At this I turned all the way around in my stool. "Oh, you want to see?" He took the canvas off the easel and turned it so I could see. Basically, he had turned me into a pig with red Pippy Longstocking hair.

"Charming," I said. "Really going to win girls over that way."

"What, you don't like it?" George asked. "I think it's a fairly accurate portrait." I just huffed and turned back to my own work.

By the end of class, Ms. Whisk was going around to examine how far everyone was. She stopped when she got to me. I hadn't really been thinking about what I was painting, I was just painting. After all, it was what she told us to do. But the dark look on her face made me decide to examine what I had put up. It was a bottle of red wine with grape vines all around it with plump grapes ready to be picked.

"Wine?" she questioned.

"Um... sparkling grape juice, maybe?" I said. "I swear I just listened to your instructions."

She shook her head. "I would like to speak with you after class. You can help me with starting the kiln for the pottery next period."

After everyone left, I continued to sit on my stool. "I'm not angry with you," Ms. Whisk said. "But, the wine concerns me." She waved her hand, indicating for me to follow.

"I swear I don't drink," I said. "And if you're concerned about my house, my mother doesn't either. The most alcohol anyone in my family ever drinks is my uncle Ronald, and I only see him around Christmas time... and I'm not even blood related to him. He's married to my mother's sister."

"Shut it, child," Ms. Whisk said. We were in the pottery room with all the clay and the kiln. I noticed it was already burning. Ms. Whisk, however, was taking off her sweater.

I took a few steps back toward the door. "It looks like you've got everything covered in here..." I said nervously. However, before I got to the door, it slammed closed with a gust of wind. I noticed that Ms. Whisk had two large wings, which I guess explained her double hunch.

"I know who you are," she said. "And I know why you painted what you did. For this, I need to rid the world of you."

My eyes must have been the size of half the pots in the room. I grabbed the handle of door, but Ms. Whisk (or whatever she was, because she was looking more bird than human now and it wasn't just the wings), grabbed me and pulled me away from the door with inhuman strength. Her nails ripped through the skin of my shoulder as she threw me at the kiln. I barely managed not to fall onto the open door, which would have left some nasty burns. I grabbed a pot next to me and threw it at her. She just hit it to the side where it shattered against the wall. I threw a few more, that wound up with the same fate.

"What are you?" I asked, tears leaking from my eyes.

"I'm a Harpy," she said. And then she jumped at me. I grabbed another piece of pottery, this time something like a plate, and threw it kind of like a frisbee. It actually hit her face, knocking her head back. This made her fall, and against the kiln. It must have burnt her because she yelled. But I didn't hesitate, I just ran for the door, which luckily, wasn't locked. I was out the door in a moment, and then clean out of the classroom. It was lunch, so I ran to the lunchroom where she wouldn't dare come after me.

"Nice make-up," George said when I skid to a stop in the middle of the room. This meant that my mascara must have smeared, but that didn't exactly concern me at the moment.

Where was Dawn? She always saved a table for us, but I didn't see her. She must have gone to the lunch line, deciding that she would rather eat than wait all period for me. What I did see was Troy waving in my direction.

I made my way toward him, slowly as possible. I really didn't want to sit with him, but I figured that he was sitting there because that's where Dawn was sitting. I was right, as Dawn came out of the lunch line with enough food for two on her tray. The second lunch must have been for me, as Troy had a bag lunch.

"Hey, Mary-Ann," Dawn said, seeing me in her peripheral. Then she looked at me, worry in her eyes. "What's wrong? Why were you crying?"

"I don't think you'd believe me," I said as I took a seat.

"Sure I would," Dawn said.

I shook my head. "I don't even know if I believe it, but I was there and I saw it for my own eyes." I took a deep breath. "Ms. Whisk is a monster."

"Well duh," Dawn said. "How many times have I told you-"

"No, I mean a real, claws and scales and deformed monster," I said. I tried not to be too loud, but I wanted to get my point across.

Troy's eyes were wide. "What kind?" he asked.

I looked at him. "I don't know," I said. "A bird something... she said a Harpy."

Troy swallowed something dry in his throat. "We have to get out of here."

I thought Dawn was going to just laugh, but she frowned a bit. "Harpies don't have scales," she said instead. "You're in shock, but you need to pay more attention."

Troy looked at Dawn for a moment in confusion. "Are you...?"

"Don't act so surprised, Satyr," she said. "But getting out of here is going to be a bit difficult."

"Why's that?" I asked. "And what is going on?"

"Mary-Ann, you're a Half-Blood," Dawn said. "But we'll get more into that later. Right now, Troy's right. We do have to get out of here."

I stared at Dawn, and then at Troy. "Half-Blood?"

"Later," Dawn said. "Three teachers here are monsters. Whisk, Johnson, and Fredrickson."

"How do you know this?" Troy asked.

"Okay," I shook my head as I spoke. "I'd like for this dream to be over. I'd like to wake up now."

"This isn't a dream, Mary-Ann," Dawn insisted. "But, if Whisk went after you, it won't be long before the others do as well. What we need is a distraction." She turned to face Troy. "How's your aim?"

"My aim?" he asked. He was getting really jittery.

"When you throw things?"

"Oh, um, it's okay..."

Dawn frowned. "Need better than okay. Guess that leaves me to do it."

"Do what?" I asked.

"You might want to duck, MA," she said. She scraped what looked like pudding onto her spork, pulled it back, and then let it fly across three tables so it hit one of George's friends. The guys at the table all began laughing except the guy with possible pudding on his face and shirt. He grabbed his juicebox, aimed the straw at one of his friends, and squeezed it tight so all the juice sprayed on the second guy. At that point, George grabbed a handful of mashed potatoes and yelled, "FOOD FIGHT!" before throwing the food at another table entirely. Within seconds, everyone in the cafeteria was throwing food or ducking for cover. Dawn pulled me down, and Troy followed us as we wormed our way toward the nearest exit. Mr. Johnson, who was the only teacher in the cafe that Dawn had mentioned, was too caught up in trying to stop the food flying to notice us, or so I thought.

Once we were in a hall, Dawn said we needed to make a quick detour to her locker.

"We don't have time for this," Troy said, gnawing on his fingernails.

"We don't want to cross half the country without protection either, Satyr," Dawn argued.

"Why's she calling you Satyr?" I asked.

"That's what he is," Dawn said. "Why else would he have such baggy pants? Those so went out of style, by the by."

Once at her locker, Dawn opened it and grabbed her backpack. She opened it and pulled out a bow and a few arrows.

"That's your bow?" Troy asked. I was shocked that she had a bow, and he was surprised that it was so short.

"My other one doesn't fit in my bag," she said, and we started for the nearest exit.

"You know, maybe it's not a good idea to leave the school," I said. "Maybe we should just tell Principal Bourke that some of his teachers are monsters and-"

"And wait for more to come kill us?" Dawn asked. "Or worse? So not an option here."

"But..."

"We'll explain on the way," Dawn said. "We'll go home, get supplies, money, call my mother."

"Call your mom?" I asked.

"How else do you expect us to get to Long Island?" Dawn asked.

"Okay, now I'm confused," Troy said. "Again."

"You're confused!" I snapped.

"Quiet, Mary-Ann," Dawn said. "At least until we're outside."

"Outside?" I heard Mr. Johnson's voice. "You three weren't thinking about playing hooky, were you?"

Dawn dropped her bag and all but one of the arrows. She aimed at Mr. Johnson, who was transforming into a monster just like Whisk had. However, before he could, Dawn pulled back on the string and then released the arrow, which flew at Mr. Johnson, hitting his head. He yelled, but Dawn was already grabbing what she had dropped.

"Let's go!" she said and was pulling me out the school door. I barely saw Mr. Johnson turn into gold dust.

"You just killed a teacher," I said in shock.

"He would have killed us," Dawn said. "He's been waiting all year to catch me one on one." She stopped and turned to face me. "MA, you know I love you dearly, but please trust me when I say that you're life is in danger. I thought I could protect you, but Troy's appearance must mean that I can't do it alone."


	2. Dawn: Troy and I Kidnap MaryAnn

**Ah, and chapter two. Not really much for me to say here, I guess. This chapter may be a bit shorter than the last one. Believe me, it's longer than it originally was. Hope you enjoy.**

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Dawn: Troy and I Kidnap Mary-Ann

Walking home from school was not something pleasant or easy, Mary-Ann and Troy were both really slow. At least we weren't attacked. It was a full two hours spent in silent power-walking before we made it to our apartment complex. I turned to Troy as we were approaching his building. "Do you have anything we'll need or want?" I asked.

"Um, no, not really," he said, still a little jittery. He was confused, as was Mary-Ann. I felt really bad to be springing this on her, but I guess deep down, I always knew that I'd have to tell her eventually. Better me than a stranger like Troy.

I had been battling monsters for years. My mother had done so since she was about ten. I was pretty darn good.

My mother, named for her father, is Hermione Westbrook. She is a demigod daughter of Hermes. And I am similarly a demigod, daughter of a Half-Blood and a god. I'm not sure which one, but I know it isn't Hermes, but it _is_ an Olympian. That narrows it down to Zeus, Poseidon, Apollo, Dionysus, Ares, or Hephaestus. It's kind of awkward to think that my mother technically did it with either an uncle or her grandfather; in fact, it really weirds me out.

We started at Mary-Ann's home. She was packing a bag, which had taken a little convincing in the first place, before she abruptly stopped and turned to face me. "What are we doing, Dawn?"

I sighed. "You know the Greek myths about gods and creatures, and stuff?"

She nodded. "We learned all about them last year, I remember. It was my favorite subject. And we did those projects; you got to do your report on Demeter and I was stuck with Dionysus."

"Well, they're not actually myths," I said slowly. "They're true. And the Gods still live today."

She stared at me like I was crazy. "What do you mean?"

"What I mean is that your father is actually a god, MA," I said. "As is my dad."

Troy was looking at me funny. "How do you know this all?" he asked. "I mean, your mother could have told you some of it, I guess, but how do you know how to fight? And about Long Island. You've never been to Camp Half-Blood, have you?"

"Nope," I answered. "But my mother spent a few summers there when she was a kid. Before she was a wanted criminal."

"Wait," Troy was slowly catching on. "You're last name is Westbrook... as in Hermione Westbrook?"

"And we have a winner," I said.

"Your mother is a Half-Blood," Troy said. "And your father is a god? Like a real full-fledged god?"

I nodded. "I don't know which one, but I've narrowed it down to six."

"But, that makes you, like..."

"Three-fourths god," I said. "I know. Which is why I always seemed to attract more demons than anyone else I've ever met."

"So, wait," Mary-Ann said. "Those monsters are actually after you?"

"Not necessarily," Dawn said. "But, I hate to say, I probably attracted them. And once they found me, they then caught your scent. Ms. Whisk probably figured you were easy prey."

"So this is your fault," Mary-Ann accused. "And what do you mean _easy prey_? Are you saying I'm weak?"

I stopped. I admit, I anger easily sometimes. "Well, sorry for saving your life," I yelled.

"Only because you're the reason I was ever in danger."

"They would have eventually found you. And if it hadn't been for me, you'd probably be dead right about now, by whisk or Johnson-"

"Who you killed." Mary-Ann was entering panic mode again. "You killed a teacher."

"A monster," I replied. I was still angry, barely keeping below a yell at this point. "And no one will remember him because of the Mist."

"Um, girls," Troy tried.

"I have to start getting ready anyway," I yelled, and stomped out. At this point, I didn't really care if she came with me to Long Island or not. I just knew that I wanted out of this boring suburban life. I'd been still for too long. For ten years, I lived day to day with my mother all across the country. She taught me to think quickly and to take challenges head on. She left me with my grandmother mostly because she sensed what Mary-Ann was, and wanted me to act as a sort of protector. Training here was a bit more difficult, but I managed, using the hall in the apartment as a shooting range and keeping fit with a neighbor's exercise equipment. I told her that my dream was to be an Olympian, and she just assumed I meant the sports Olympics.

I opened the curtains of my room, which luckily faced west and had the sun shining in. I grabbed a gold coin out of a bowl on my desk. I was running low on gold drachmas. I turned on a fountain that had just enough mist to cause a rainbow. I prayed my mother wasn't in the middle of a job as I tossed the coin in and prayed quickly. "Oh, goddess Iris, please take this offering." I waited a moment, then said, "Show me my mother, Hermione Westbrook."

And there she appeared, in a nice hotel room, reading a dime store paperback novel. "Mom," I said, and she jolted to the upright position. Her dark hair was shorter than last time I saw her, and it looked nice, just below her chin.

"Dawn, baby?" She finally spotted me. "What's the call about?"

"Any way you could come by and take me to Long Island?" I asked. I knew she could at least take refuge at the camp, safe from the mortal police after her. It would give us some time together without having to worry about anything.

"Why would you want to go?" she asked. Granted, I knew her happiest memories were definitely not from her camp days. But now would be different. "I thought you were happy with Gran? And what about your friend Mary-Jane?"

"Mary-Ann," I corrected her. "And I don't think I can protect her any longer. She just got attacked by a harpy at school, and I couldn't even help her. She escaped somehow, but now we need to go to Camp Half-Blood. We have a satyr with us too."

"And he can't help you there?"

"I don't trust him like I do you," I said. "And you could stay there with me."

"What am I going to do at a camp, Dawn?"

"Not get caught by the law," I said. "Or the monsters that are after you. You could be a counselor or something."

My mother just sighed and I could tell we were going to have the 'free spirit' speech again soon, but not right then.

"You could help train people," I said. "I mean, you trained me."

"You're my daughter," my mother said. "The trainers at camp will be so much better at anything than I am."

I sighed and sat down on my bed. "Are you sure? You've got years of real experience on your side."

"Completely, darling," she said. "And they have years of real experience too, believe me. Anyway, I can do more out here than I can holed up in a summer camp."

"But you will escort us, right?" I asked.

"You know I will," she said. "Tonight at dusk, be at the train station. Look for a boy about your age, or a year older, I think. I'm currently escorting him back after an attack in Montana."

"You're in Montana?" I asked.

"Minnesota," my mother said. "Leisurely returning to Long Island, but with you and your friend added, we'll attract too much attention."

"So it'll be a quick trip," I said a little slowly, slightly disappointed. I rarely got extended visits with my mother since she decided I should live with Gran. The law and all.

"As quick as we can make it," she said. "But I guess I better get out of this hotel and find that boy so that we won't be late."

"Bye," I said. My mother just smiled at me and waved her hand through the picture on her end, breaking the connection.

Instead, I started to pack. I started with a spare set of clothes for myself and then a sweater, replacing the books in my backpack. I threw in summer camp needs, such as sun-screen lotion, a hat, shades, and good hiking shoes. I then headed to the bathroom and started collecting all my needs in there. I threw all that into a real suitcase, which I then filled with more clothes. And then I opened the trunk at the foot of my bed, and loaded my weapons as well, including my long bow (which went into my suitcase), a few celestial bronze daggers, and a celestial bronze whip all into my backpack.

As soon as I was finished with the packing, I sighed. Mary-Ann and Troy had still not come over. I hefted my bag over my shoulder and dragged the suitcase to the front room. I then quickly wrote a note for Gran. She'd be upset, but then again, she knew it would be safest for me. She had, after all, sent my mother there a few years before my mother decided to take up a life of crime.

I walked back to Mary-Ann's building and found that she and Troy were arguing.

"I'm not going!" Mary-Ann yelled at him. "Why should I believe a thing you say?"

"You were attacked," Troy tried to explain to her without yelling... it wasn't working very well.

"I probably was going delusional," Mary-Ann said. "I already have ADHD and dyslexia. What's to say that I don't have delusions as well?"

"They're not," I said, walking in. I turned to Troy. "Show her your feet."

"What?" They both asked, though in very different tones. Mary-Ann was just plain confused and Troy was hesitant.

"I'm sorry, hooves," I said. I saw what she had packed, and then continued to throw more stuff into her bag.

"Dawn, stop that," Mary-Ann said.

"Look," I pointed to Troy, who had lifted up one of his pant legs and pulled his hoof out of the fake foot that kept his shoes on.

"That's a hoof," Mary-Ann said slowly. I pushed down some of his hair to reveal a small horn. "And that's not normal."

"He's a Satyr," I explained, going back to packing her stuff.

"There are no such things as Satyrs!" Mary-Ann yelled. "And stop packing my bag!"

"Well, if you want to go without anything," I said.

"I'm not going," Mary-Ann snapped.

"Yes you are," I said. "Because the other option is to leave you here where you will be killed by monsters and I don't want that over my head."

Mary-Ann shook her head. She was crying hysterically. I didn't blame her. I had a feeling that she would react that way. It seemed what normal people would do. I, however, never had the chance to be normal enough to think that having a god for a parent or that monsters were odd. A few years ago, I would have been confused by Mary-Ann's reaction. Now, I knew it was normal, but I really didn't understand it. I mean, these myths persisted for thousands of years, and inspired art even to today. I figured, how could the gods _not_ be real?

"My mom would never let me go," Mary-Ann said.

"Which is why we're not asking your mom for permission," I told her. "Anything else you'd like to take?"

She shook her head, so I zipped her bag closed. "Let's go," I said, handing her bag to Troy. "We have to get to the train station by twilight and we have to do it without attracting any more monsters."

Walking to the train station is not an easy trek. Much worse than the trek from school. It was kind of miraculous that we made the first journey without being attacked. Now, we had luggage and Mary-Ann kept trying to turn around.

"Don't make me hand-cuff you to Troy," I said at one point. "I so will."

"We shouldn't be doing this," Mary-Ann said. "We should be telling the police about what happened... you shot a teacher, Dawn."

"Monster," I reminded her, trying to keep my cool. I was starting to think that it would have been a better idea to wait for Gran to get home and ask her to drive, but she sometimes didn't come home until after twilight, and I needed to catch the train my mom would be on.

I patted my pocket, where I had less than twenty dollars and just a few drachmas. I knew Mary-Ann also had some money in her backpack, which I insisted she bring. In it she had sneakers, an extra set of clothes, and one of my daggers. I wasn't taking a chance of having nothing if we somehow lost our luggage. The backpacks wouldn't come off.

Of course, Troy had nothing but the clothes on his back and the drachmas in his pocket. His biggest complaint was that we had no food, which wasn't a concern for me at all. Food would not be an issue if we were killed on our way to the train station. My mother would have food; she _always_ had something to eat on hand. Even if it is as small as a Ho-Ho. But with three demigods and a satyr, I was certain my mother would have enough to go around.

We somehow made it to the train station without incident. Troy and I only had to pick Mary-Ann up by her arms and spin her around or carry her three times. We arrived just a few minutes early, which was good. If we were there too early, someone would eventually approach us and ask what we were up to. If we arrived late, well, we'd miss the train. So, we found a place to stand, apart enough from the crowds to be easily spotted, but close enough that we didn't stick out too much. And then we just had to wait.


	3. Hermione Starts a Catfight of a Century

**Thanks to those that have been reading. I'd love for you guys to give me feedback. Preferably constructive Criticism. Reminder, I don't own PJO, but I do own most of the characters (though not all of them). And, no one owns the stuff from the actual Greek Myths for those that are wondering.**

**I'm not sure how much more of this I'm going to post. I do have one more chapter done, but I've put a hold on this because I'm actually going to be using the characters for the most part for a novel. **

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Braxton: Hermione Starts the Cat Fight of the Century

Ms. Westbrook didn't give me much to work off of when she dropped me off at the train station just minutes before twilight. Two girls my age and a satyr in disguise. It's easy to pick out satyrs now after having spent a summer at Camp Half-Blood. They all walk funny and they all wear their hair big, often with large hats as well. It covers up their horns.

I had been found in sixth grade by Sasha. Sasha always got made fun of because of his name, and in the more hickish parts of America, I can understand why. The most frequent, other guys assumed that Sasha was either gay or actually a girl. I was the only one that gave the poor guy a break, as we were roommates. Eventually, the story was that if people picked on Sasha, they'd get beat up by me.

I was notorious among the students for teaching lessons in a less than conventional way. No one ever told because, usually, those that I actually hurt were about twice my size. It didn't make sense to me until my father came to pick me up at the end of the last school year, and sat me down, with Sasha, explaining what I was.

The thought was kind of cool at first, until I arrived at Camp Half-Blood and was shuffled into the Hermes cabin.

The Hermes cabin was where the 'unclaimed' campers went. There were also the children of Hermes in there. Most of the 'unclaimed' campers were under the age of thirteen, and they very often were claimed usually in pretty cool ways. I was claimed in the lamest way imaginable.

Apparently, a year earlier, Percy Jackson earned a request from the gods, and instead of requesting something cool, like to become a god himself, he asked that the gods be better parents or something along those lines. So, at the dining pavilion, there were some recently added tables for all the non-Olympian children. Those that were living in the Hermes cabin got to eat with the Hermes kids until they were claimed. One night, in the middle of the summer, a girl who sat all alone at the Eris table got up when I walked in and just hugged me. Being three years older than me, I assumed that she wasn't into me and over-enthusiastic.

"Hello, my little brother!" she said proudly, in front of everyone. It was a lame way of being claimed. I didn't even know who Eris was at the time and had to ask her in secret a few days later when I got a little more comfortable with her. Apparently, she had been told in a dream that we were siblings.

I went home for the school-year, as camp really slows down after summer. That, and I had never had problems with monsters until I went to camp. Children of the minor gods rarely have problems with monsters outside of camp. But, I guess something happened because I received an Iris-Message from my sister. She still lived at camp full time. She told me that tons of demigods, both of minor and major gods, were being attacked. Most were able to defend themselves, or are really close to others, but a few had been killed off, including one of my few friends. And then she gave me the worst news; Sasha had died too, saving the life of a daughter of Hebe.

My reaction was to throw something through the message after insisting I would never return to camp. I didn't last long. A couple of _dracaena _appeared as I was on my way to school (I no longer lived at school, but stayed with my dad a mile off campus). I was used to every once in a while seeing a monster because there is a lot of wilderness near me, but very few were the type to attack. But, suddenly, I was diving for my safety in a shrub. And then I ran.

Luckily, I guess, I ran along the railroad tracks. A train passed. And someone with a rather large duffle jumped from the train, shocking both me and the _dracaena_ as she landed between us with just a bit of dirt on her from a roll to her feet. In her hand she had a short sword of celestial bronze.

She dusted the two _dracaena_ in a few seconds before turning to me.

I immediately knew she was a child of Hermes from her elvish facial features, but she was the oldest demigod I had ever seen. It wasn't that she looked particularly old, but I knew she wasn't a teenager, that was for sure. I guessed mid-twenties, so I was shocked when she said she was thirty-three.

She told me she'd escort me back to Camp Half-Blood, and wasn't taking 'no' for an answer. And then, a day later, she told me we'd be picking up a few more passengers.

I spotted the Satyr first, as he stood a little taller than the girls he was with. And then, the bright red hair I was supposed to be watching for caught my attention. But I didn't look at the other girl until I was close enough to quietly talk.

"Which of you is Dawn?" I asked.

Dawn looked at me, and smiled. She was quite the sight to behold. What caught me mostly were her eyes. And she had a bit of a quick tongue, a trait I admire.

"I can see why you would need some help to the camp," she said. "Not so good with a sword, are you?"

"And you're an expert?" I asked right back.

"I gotta be better than you," she said. I could see the top of her bow sticking out of her back pack. I noticed she also had a suitcase.

"Let's just go," the satyr said. He looked nervous. The red-head just looked confused.

I handed them three tickets Ms. Westbrook had bought and kept the final one for myself. Dawn's mother was already on the train. It was really quite annoying.

Not much happened on the train toward Chicago, where our transfer was. Dawn introduced me to Mary-Ann and Troy, whom I dubbed 'Red' and 'Satyr.' Ms. Westbrook simply laughed at that, and started to insist we call her something else... Mrs. Smith to be exact.

It wasn't a long ride, and we were soon in Chicago. I, however, was getting sick of trains. I'd taken a train from Montana to Minnesota, from Minnesota to Chicago, out to the suburbs, and then back to Chicago, and then, we'd take a train all the way to New York City.

"Couldn't we just jump on a plane at O'Hare or something?" I asked as we made sure we had all our bags.

"Technically, yes, we could," Ms. Westbrook said. "But I'd rather not be caught on video surveillance. Here, I know where all the camera's are, and I can manipulate the Mist for anyone that recognizes me while getting on the train."

"The Mist?" Mary-Ann asked. "What's that? You mentioned it earlier, but we were kind of yelling..." she looked at Dawn as she said this.

"Mist is a white fog that usually appears in the morning," I said. Dawn elbowed me. She apparently had no qualms about injuring people she just met.

"It's what keeps mortals, regular humans, from seeing monsters and stuff that seems really abnormal," Dawn said. "It's why you didn't realize Ms. Whisk was a Harpy, because she manipulated the Mist."

Troy continued, "It does affect demigods to some extent, but it really lessens once they know what they are."

"You had a teacher that was a Harpy?" I asked.

"And it attacked me," Mary-Ann said.

Suddenly, Ms. Westbrook grabbed my arm and pulled me to her other side. I looked at her strangely, but she just kept walking, pulling me with her. "Um, is there a reason that you're pulling me over there?"

"Blocking a camera," she said. "I don't want to be spotted by cameras at all if possible." She grabbed Troy and pushed him in front of her just a bit, so that he'd block her face from a camera I spotted ahead. She also, I noticed, had styled her hair in a new way so that it blocked the opposite side of her face from me.

"It's not the cameras I'd be worried about," Dawn said suddenly stopping in her tracks. We all stopped and looked where she was staring wide-eyed. All I saw were a few toddlers running around and a beautiful girl a few years older. And then I noticed her reflection in the window behind her, and saw that her hair was on fire. She, actually, was an Empousa, AKA, a really nasty monster. And a really powerful one too. The vampires of Greek mythology. I knew that I couldn't take her on, and from the look on Dawn's face, it seemed that either she couldn't take her on either, or she had no clue what kind of monster stood before us.

"Maybe it hasn't noticed us yet," Mary-Ann said, her voice shaking a bit as she saw either the monster's true form or the reflection like I had.

"No," Ms. Westbrook said. "She knows we're here. Four demigods and a Satyr. Even if she hasn't seen us, she's certainly smelled us." She suddenly spun Troy to face her. "What kind of Satyr are you, not noticing an Empousa's scent?"

"I, uh, see, my nose is actually, well, I have no sense of smell," Troy stuttered out. But, I hardly paid attention to that as the monster was coming our way.

I reached to my belt and held the hilt of my dagger, but Ms. Westbrook held me back. "I'll take care of her, Braxton."

"But, Mom," Dawn showed concern. Her eyes darted to the several cameras that she was hiding from. "There's no way you can fight her without being spotted by cameras.

"I'll just keep her distracted long enough for you guys to get on the train and for the train to leave. Once it's gone, I'm heading back out west."

"What's out west?" Troy asked. "If you don't mind me asking."

"I don't know," Ms. Westbrook said. "But, when I was young, I had a dream about heading west. It goes with my name, so I'm following my dream finally. After all, if I hadn't, I wouldn't have met up with Braxton."

Dawn was crying a bit, but nodded. "Send me an IM when you're safe." Her mother nodded and then hugged her, before pushing us all behind her, away from the Empousa.

"Excuse me," the monster said, she shifted to her true form, but just a moment, and Mary-Ann gasped. "I seem to be lost. Could you help me find where my train leaves from."

"It would be my pleasure," Ms. Westbrook said. As it seemed that Dawn wasn't in the mood to leave her mother behind, and the other two weren't about to take charge, I grabbed the girls by their wrists and started tugging them away. As we walked off, the Empousa kept her eyes on us.

When the Empousa turned, as if to follow us, Ms. Westbrook swung a hard kick to the monster's mid-section. It was sure a way to attract attention and draw a crowd. I pulled us through the crowd, as I knew that the monster wouldn't reveal herself to the mortals if she could avoid it. The two woman began duking it out, and I had to avoid looking so I wouldn't sit and watch what had to be the catfight of the century.

"Tickets, please," a man asked as we were boarding. Dawn handed him the tickets.

"There are five tickets here," the man said. "Where's your fifth party?"

"Oh, he couldn't make it," Dawn said smoothly. "Chicken pox."

The man rolled his eyes and tore the tickets for us and allowed us to enter.

Once we were seated, Dawn turned to look out at what was happening. The train began to move just as the police arrived, and the next thing I knew, Ms. Westbrook had disappeared into the crowd. The Empousa turned toward the train, but it was moving too fast for her to catch.

It was an overnight train all the way to New York. After a short while, Dawn went to the bathroom to wait for a message from her mother and Troy fell asleep.

"So, who's your god parent?" Mary-Ann asked me after about half an hour of silence between us.

I rolled my eyes. "Eris," I responded. "Goddess of-"

"Discord and chaos," she finished. "I know. That's cool."

"How is that cool?" I asked.

"She was the first tool in starting the Trojan war," Mary-Ann said. "She's the one that rolled the Golden Apple into the wedding."

"And that's cool?" I asked.

"Haven't you ever read The Iliad?"

"I don't read," I said. "Dyslexia."

"I have that too," Mary-Ann said. "It's kind of nice to know someone else with it."

"You're about to meet a lot more," I said. "I don't think I've met a Half-Blood that doesn't have it."

"Dawn doesn't," Mary-Ann said.

"Yeah, well, she's a special case," I responded. "So, do you know who your godly parent is?"

"No," Mary-Ann said.

"Have you had any signs?" I asked. "Visions, weird dreams, anything?"

"Well, there was this strange painting earlier today," she said.

"What happened?" I asked.

"We had to paint something that just came to our mind, and I... no, it's stupid."

"Go on," I said. "Maybe I can help."

"I painted a bottle of wine," she said. "with grape vines."

I lifted an eyebrow and laughed a bit. "Seriously?"

"Oh, great, now your just going to laugh at me," she snapped, annoyed.

"Well, it's Dionysus, I bet," I said, still laughing. "He's the camp director."

She didn't look all too thrilled. Troy snorted and mumbled something about banana peels. Dawn still wasn't back.

"Hey, at least you'll have an older brother, Pollux," I told her. "He's got a cabin to himself right now."

That didn't seem to make things better.


	4. Mary Ann: I Get Yelled at A Lot

**Don't forget to read the author's not at the end of the chapter.**

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Mary-Ann: I Get Yelled at... A Lot

Dawn wasn't too thrilled when she came back. Apparently she was asked to leave the bathroom area unless she had to go because she kept ducking in whenever anyone walked out. Braxton and I hadn't spoken much since he told me he thought my father was Dionysus. I wasn't too thrilled, and for good reasons.

Basically, Dionysus was a fat drunk. I loved our study of Greek mythology when we had been in it, but I hadn't been too happy when I was told I had to do a report on him when everyone else got to choose their report god or goddess. But it was strange how easily I found information about him, like, while at the library, trying to pull a book out, the one next to it would fall and open to a page about a little known or hardly even mentioned myth about him.

It was slowly occurring to me that that had been the way he had been trying to 'claim' me. Well, that and the random bottle of wine that was sent to me (luckily it was left outside my door and I found it when I got home from school on my thirteenth birthday so my mom doesn't know about it as it is tucked into the back of my closet). And now I was certainly going to meet him if Braxton was right.

"I'm getting tired," I finally said after a few hours. I mean, it had been after eight that we got on the train, and now it had to be well after midnight. All the other passengers were asleep.

"Then go to sleep," Braxton said. He kicked Troy, who was sitting across from him.

Troy snorted and then woke up. "Wha?" he asked, still half asleep.

"Your turn to stay awake," Braxton said.

"I will too," Dawn said. "I'll wake you up in a few hours, Braxton. It's best if we have two people on watch at all times."

Braxton shrugged and shifted a bit, closing his eyes. Even though I wasn't comfortable sleeping in public places, my eyes couldn't have been closed for more than a minute or two before I was asleep.

The next thing I knew, I was watching as Hermione Westbrook, Dawn's mother, was running from the woman/monster from Union Station. I could tell she was running much quicker than I'd ever seen someone run. I figured it was the Hermes in her. However, she suddenly skid to a stop. I turned to see why and noticed Ms. Whisk had cut her off, only she looked a lot more monster than even when I had run from her.

All Hermione had on her was a single blade, short enough that it wasn't really a sword, but too long to be a knife. And it was the same color as the knife Dawn had given me; celestial bronze. No one seemed to notice me.

"End of the line for you, Westbrook," the woman monster said, her fire hair dancing in the darkness.

Hermione looked between the two monsters. "You haven't got me yet," she said, her teeth gritted. She looked absolutely exhausted from the run. And then something hit her from behind throwing her to the feet of Whisk. There stood Mr. Fredrickson, who was now transforming into what looked like to me a lion, or something similar. Hermione didn't move, and I gasped. Whisk was about to kill her with her talons, but a sword was suddenly sticking out of her chest, and then she dissolved. No one stood there.

"Where are you, Half-Blood?" the fire-haired monster yelled.

"Right here," this time it was a guy that spoke. He was just behind the woman, and he swung quickly, ripping through her with his sword. Before Fredrickson could get more than three steps, the boy had cut him down as well. And then I noticed the black winged horse. I knew that was a pegasus, but I never believed that they existed. Then again, at this point, I shouldn't have been surprised.

"Percy," a voice said, and there was a girl kneeling next to Hermione. "She's exhausted and passed out. We'll need to take her to camp." I was amazed, because she hadn't been there a moment earlier. "How did you know about this anyway?"

"Hermes sent me a message," the boy said; I assumed he was Percy. "Remember, I promised I'd help him keep his children safe."

"She's not a kid," the blond girl said. "She's an adult."

"Hermes said there were circumstances that she needed help," Percy said. "And, hey, three more destroyed monsters, what's wrong with that?" He approached the girl, and pulled out a canister. "I don't have any ambrosia on me, but I brought this." He shifted Hermione and poured some golden liquid in her mouth. On instinct, Hermione swallowed.

And then she began to mumble, "Is Dawn alright?"

"Who's Dawn?" Percy asked the girl. She shrugged.

"Let's get her on Blackjack and get her back to camp," the girl said.

And then I woke up. I was surprised that I had dreamed such a strange dream, and it had seemed so real. We were pulling into Grand Central Station.

"Come on, Mary-Ann," Troy said. He had my bag over his shoulder. Dawn and Braxton were already both halfway down the aisle toward the exit. "I'm not certain that they'll wait for us."

"Did I miss my watch?" I asked him, following.

"Nah, Dawn didn't sleep," he said. "She's been a wreck since we got on, you know."

"Yeah," I nodded. I was thinking about my dream. "Hey, would it be strange for me to have had a dream about Hermione?"

"I don't think it's too out of the realm of possibilities," Troy said. "Why?"

"Well, I dreamt she was running from that woman, but was cut off by Whisk," I said.

"The harpy that attacked you?" Troy asked in a low voice.

"Yeah, but then two people appeared and saved her," I said. "A girl, whose name I didn't catch, and a boy named Percy."

"Did he have a black pegasus named Blackjack?" Troy asked.

I nodded. "I believe so," I said.

"Then I don't think that was just a dream. I think you were seeing what was really happening. Not unusual for your kind." He paused as we got pushed from behind by some people urgent to get off the train. Once we had broken free from the train and were trailing Dawn and Braxton a bit, he continued, "So, what exactly happened."

I sighed, but told him what had happened in more detail. He nodded as he listened. "Well, I think that's a good sign."

"Why's that?"

"Because," Troy said quietly, "that probably means that Hermione is safe at camp." He obviously didn't want Dawn to hear him and stood a bit back as she and Braxton were discussing something, very loudly.

"Hey, Satyr," Braxton said, spotting us. "Tell her we're better off taking a bus than a taxi."

"Wouldn't a taxi be expensive?" I asked.

"They can pay it from the camp expenses," Dawn said. "And it's the quickest way there."

"I assume you mean to take the Gray Sisters, right?" Troy questioned Dawn.

"What is that?" I asked.

"Who are they, you mean," Braxton corrected me. He turned back to Dawn and Troy. "Those three freak me out."

"You've taken their taxi before?" Dawn asked.

"Wait, I know what you're talking about," I said. "The Graeae, right?"

"Yes," Dawn said. "They run a taxi service which will be the quickest and safest way to Camp Half-Blood."

"If I recall correctly, those three were bringers of terror and tragedy," I said in concern.

"Not really," Dawn said.

"Let's just take a bus," Braxton said.

"Where?" Dawn asked. "It's not going to drop us off at the camp."

Troy sighed and looked around, then signaled me to follow him. He walked to an alley where steam was rising from a sewer. He pulled a gold piece from his pocket. "I just need you to stand there to make sure no one can see what I'm doing," he said to me.

"Why?" I asked.

"By the time they finish arguing, we can have a van here to pick us up," Troy said.

I watched as he made sure no one was watching, took a step to one side when he asked me to, and then he threw a coin where the steam was hitting the sunlight creating a small rainbow. The coin disappeared, he said something, and then a face appeared. I gasped.

"Troy," the man in the mist picture said. "I'm glad to see you're alright. Where are you?" He had brown hair and a beard, and from what I could see behind him, he seemed tall, as there was a buff girl pacing behind him.

"I'm in the City with three half-bloods, including Braxton Masters," Troy said.

"His sister said he was refusing to come back," the girl said, coming forward. She actually really scared me. However, her eyes settled on me. "Who is that?"

"That's Mary-Ann," Troy said. "She's a half-blood... attacked by a teacher that turned out to be a Harpy."

"Well, glad to know you spotted one monster," the girl said.

"Actually... it kind of..." Troy started stuttering, but the man cut him off.

"I expect you are in need of transportation."

"Exactly," Troy said. "Braxton and Dawn are arguing about the best way, and I was hoping that Argus could just come here with the van."

"He can't," the girl said. "He's busy. I'll be at the Empire State Building in two hours. Don't be late."

Troy did not look happy as he nodded and assured our attendance. He waved his hand through the image and it disappeared. When he turned to me, he was rather pale. "Clarisse is coming," he said weakly.

"What's wrong with her?" I asked.

"She's a daughter of Ares," he said. "And has never liked me."

I looked back at Dawn and Braxton, who were still arguing. "So, I guess we have to tell them we have a ride."

"Guess so," Troy said, and took a deep breath.

Actually, once we told them, they kind of both felt sheepish that they hadn't thought to 'Iris Message' the camp, though Braxton had a similar reaction to Troy when he learned that this Clarisse girl was coming.

I kind of began to understand why neither Troy nor Braxton wanted Clarisse to be the one to pick us up. When she stepped out of the vehicle, I kind of wanted to cower in fear... and then I wanted to punch someone in the face.

"Well," Clarisse growled at us. "Are you getting in, or just standing there all day?"

Troy was the first in. Braxton nodded for Dawn and me to go ahead of him, so I climbed in and sat next to Troy. In the front, the actual driver was a guy who kind of reminded me of Hermione, so I asked quickly, "Are you a son of Hermes?"

The guy frowned. "Don't talk," Braxton said, crawling in after Dawn had. Finally, Clarisse crawled back in and closed the door.

The van was silent for a short while, and a little cramped as Dawn and I both had a duffle with us. Finally, Dawn cleared her throat. "I'm Dawn," she said. "And that's Mary-Ann. I guess you already know the boys."

It was the driver who answered her. "Hey, Dawn, Mary-Ann. My name is Chris and this is Clarisse." He was silent for a few seconds, before adding, "And to answer your question from earlier, yes, I am a son of Hermes."

This, apparently, upset Clarisse. "She was asking you about your father?"

"I don't think she meant any harm by it, Clarisse," Chris said, reaching out and putting a hand on her arm. She still looked steamed, but at least she didn't launch herself into the backseat to strangle me.

"So, do you know who your parents are?" Chris asked after another long silence.

"Doesn't everyone?" Braxton asked.

"He wasn't talking to you, Masters," Clarisse snapped at him.

Dawn and I shook our heads 'no.' Sure, I was convinced that Dionysus was my father, but I didn't exactly want to admit to that. Braxton gave me a quizzical look, but shrugged it off.

"How old are you?" he asked. "Twelve?"

"Thirteen," we answered in unison.

"You're not twins, are you?" Clarisse growled.

"Not in the least bit," Dawn said. "We both know who are mothers are. Admittedly, mine's a little cooler..."

"Sorry, not all of us can have infamous, train-robbing parents," I said, a little annoyed. Okay, sure, I completely agreed that her mother was about a hundred times cooler than my dead beat mother, but she didn't have to announce it.

"Train-robbing mothers?" Chris asked, his interest obviously peaked. "I think I'd like to meet this woman."

"I don't think you're her type," Dawn said.

"Considering you're her brother," Braxton said.

"Hold it!" Clarisse yelled. "Her mother is the half-blood?"

"I'm a demigod too," Dawn said. "I swear."

"Just because your mother is a demigod doesn't make you one," Clarisse had a vein sticking out of her forehead, and she was now totally ignoring Chris, who had pulled over. He was trying to calm her down, but she was just getting madder and madder. "In fact, when two demigods have kids, the kid is just mortal."

"Well, my father is a god," Dawn said. "I swear on the river Styx!"

Clarisse's eyes were burning practically, but she turned around and grunted. "You are having a long talk with Chiron and Mr. D when we arrive at camp," she snapped. The rest of the ride was silent. No one even dared to breathe loudly except Clarisse, who huffed in anger most of the way to camp.

"Looks like Percy's back," Chris said when we pulled up to what apparently was camp. There was a tall white pine tree, a golden blanket of some sort on one of the branches, and a dragon sleeping beneath. We got out of the van and climbed the hill. Clarisse walked with her eyes trained on Dawn, but my attention was caught by the black Pegasus, the same one that had been in my dream. A good thing too, because if my attention had been on the dragon, I never would have crossed the camp borders.

"Where was he?" Braxton asked. Chris started to answer, but Clarisse cut him off.

"None of your business. You know where your cabin is! Go greet your sister or something. As for you three, go see Mr. D and Chiron."

Rather than leading us on, Clarisse began marching off. Chris apologized for her, then followed.

"You can just follow me," Troy said after a moment. Troy led us to the big house, inside, and to what appeared to be the dining room... or possibly a war room. It was kind of hard to tell. Inside were four people, including the two people I had seen in my dream. One man, sitting in a wheelchair, was the man I had seen Troy speaking with, which also confused me because I could have sworn he was tall. Finally, there was a man in an orange Hawaiian shirt drinking a can of Diet Coke.

"You're back rather quickly," the man in the Hawaiian shirt said.

"I see you had no trouble finding not just one, but two demigods," the man in the wheelchair said.

"Uh, yes," Troy said, nervous again. "Right where the Oracle said she would be."

"She didn't mention anything about two," the blond girl from my dream said.

"Well, on with introductions, I suppose," the man in the wheelchair said. "I am Chiron, Activities Director here at Camp Half-Blood. This is Mr. D, Camp Head. And these two are Percy Jackson, head of Cabin three, and Annabeth Chase, head of cabin six. And you two would be?"

"My name is Dawn Westbrook," Dawn jumped right in. "And this is Mary-Ann Weston."

Mr. D suddenly perked up as his eyes settled on me. Everyone seemed to notice. "Mary-Ann..." he said slowly. Chiron, Percy, and Annabeth all seemed to find that odd. "My little Mary-Ann!" And then he got up and hugged me. I froze as he squeezed me with an iron grip I didn't think a guy like him could have.

"She's your daughter, Mr. D?" Percy asked.

"Be quiet, Peter Johnson," Mr. D said. "I never interrupt your reunions with your father. You could show some respect for me meeting my lovely daughter."

"Mr. D, after all Percy has done for you," Annabeth said, "the least you can do is get his name correct."

"Oh, Annie Bell," Mr. D said, "I have to learn the name of every kid at this camp. If I get one or two wrong once or twice, you should give me a little slack. I may be immortal, but that is just that many more things I've learned over the years."

"You know his name is Percy," Annabeth said. "And you know what-"

"Just leave it, Annabeth," Percy said leaning closer to her as if Mr. D wouldn't hear. "The more you ignore it, the sooner he'll get it right."

"So, you are Dionysus, I guess," I said, once he had released me from his killer grip.

"I thought you didn't know your father," Dawn said, turning to me.

"Well, I didn't know for certain," I confessed. "Braxton kind of made a guess when I told him about the bottle of wine I painted, and it made sense."

"Why'd you paint a bottle of wine?" Dawn asked.

"I had no idea why when I did," I replied.

"An odd way to be claimed, if I say so myself," Chiron said.

"I tried to tell her before she turned thirteen, but she wasn't getting the message," Mr. D said. "You still have the bottle of wine I sent you for your birthday?"

"I didn't bring it with me, but it's in my room," I said.

He nodded. "Good. You might want to retrieve it next time you return to your home. How is your mother?"

I forced a smile. I really didn't want to have this conversation.

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**Since I know people love to see their characters in stories, I'm allowing you guys to submit character to make cameos (AKA, they will be filler characters). Rules, must be the child of a god (no Titan kids), not a monster (no Tysons), and must _not_ be a child of Zeus, Hades, Poseidon, Hera, Artemis, or Hestia. Try that, and I won't even consider your character. All I need is name (first and last), godly parent, weapon, a quick personality statement, quick description (hair color, skin color, and general body) and maybe a quick fact. Don't give me a huge character chart with history, how they were claimed, who they like and all that. I won't use it, and it will just discourage me from actually reading what you wrote. No related, in any way, to Percy, Annabeth, Nico, etc. They will literally just make a quick appearance, and maybe a line.**

**Also, don't just leave a character. Leave some sort of review. I don't want a million characters and no actual reviews. Constructive criticism is best, but if you just want to tell me how I'm doing, that's fine too.**


	5. Dawn: I Remember Hellhounds of My Past

**For those that missed it last chapter, you can send in a demigod for cameos. When the summer session starts, I kind of want the camp to seem full, but I don't want to sit and come up with a ton of extras. This doesn't mean your character will be heavily featured. In fact, they will just make quick appearances. I will credit you for any characters you send in that I use. If you want the guidelines, they're at the end of the last chapter.**

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Dawn: I Remember Hellhounds of My Past

I'll admit, I was a bit jealous that Mary-Ann found her father so easily. Granted, I was also glad that Dionysus wasn't claiming me to be his daughter. So, while Percy and Annabeth were watching Dionysus and Mary-Ann, I noticed Chiron was more interested in me.

"What did you say your surname is, again?" Chiron asked.

"Westbrook," I said slowly.

He looked considerate for a moment. "As in Hermione Westbrook?" Chiron asked eventually.

My eyes widened. "You know my mom?"

"Not only that, but I trained her," Chiron said. "For three summers, at least. She was extremely talented and could have been a great hero."

"Could have been?" I was a bit offended by that.

"Until she devoted herself to a life of crime," Chiron said.

"She's out there fighting monsters, killing demons every day while you sit behind these camp boundaries," I said. "And you have the gall to say she's not a hero?"

"Dawn, was it," Percy said. He glanced at Annabeth briefly, I noticed.

"I don't want to hear it," I spat. I turned back to Chiron. "I don't even know where my mother is right now because she risked herself to make sure that we weren't followed onto a train by a monster."

"It's just that," Percy tried again.

"No, I said I don't want to hear it," I said.

"She's here!" Annabeth yelled.

That stopped me. "She's... here? But, how?"

"We brought her here after rescuing her from some monsters," Percy said. "She's a half-blood, isn't she, and you're something more."

I stared at Percy. I wasn't so comfortable with him having figured that out so easily. "What are you, a prophet?" I asked. "Oh, never mind, where is she?"

"She's in the infirmary," Annabeth said. "It's just down the hall-"

She didn't finish before I was running through the house trying to find her. It didn't take me long to find the room where she was asleep on a bed. She had a bruise on her chin that hadn't been there when we were at the station. I lightly laid my hand on her cheek, by way of telling her I was there.

"She's going to be fine," I heard Chiron behind be. "She was mostly exhausted."

"But she can easily outrun any creature," I argued.

"I think she was trying to lure an Empousa away from you," Chiron said. "Keep its attention so that it wouldn't go after you. If it had caught the next train, it would have caught you in New York."

"So?" I questioned. "I could have taken it. My mother's trained me very well."

"I'm sure she has," Chiron said. "However, the burden of defeating her in a public place would have been very bad for you. She didn't want that to fall on your shoulders, but after running for so many miles and then finding herself between three different monsters, your mother was caught by surprise. She only got hit once before Annabeth and Percy arrived."

I wiped my eyes as they were beginning to overflow with tears. "She shouldn't have been hit at all. It's my fault. I'm a magnet for monsters usually."

"Why is that?" Chiron asked. "I am aware that your mother is a half-blood, but what are you?"

"I'm not sure, exactly," I said. "Whatever you get when a half-blood and a god have a kid."

Chiron was quiet for a moment. "But you don't know who your father is..."

I shook my head.

"Tell me about yourself," Chiron said. "Interesting facts. You said your mother trained you, what's your best weapon?"

I smiled. "I have a whip that I'm quite partial to," I told him. "When I was nine, my mother and I battled five Hellhounds together... I took out four while she only got one."

"Okay, I don't believe any gods use a whip..."

"They don't that I know of," I said. "Though maybe Himeros did, but not as a weapon..." That earned me a frown from Chiron so I returned to the topic of _my_ whip. "The whip was my mothers, apparently a present from a friend at camp. But she wasn't very good with it."

"What about grades?"

"They're really good," I told him. "My mother started me with Greek when I was little, and so English is kind of my second language. Learning a new alphabet as an eight year old was annoying, but necessary. I have no idea whether I would have been dyslexic had I started with English."

"ADHD?"

"Never officially diagnosed," I told him. "But anyone you ask from where I'm from would tell you have I it."

"Anything else?"

I nodded. "I don't see the Mist at all. Never have."

"That's odd," Chiron said. "Not unheard of, but quite odd. Even for a demigod. I'm not sure the term 'Half-Blood' actually applies to you."

"Would you mind leaving me alone with my mother for a while?" I asked.

Chiron seemed to understand this. "I'll have Troy deliver your bags to Cabin Eleven for now. I don't think any of the current Hermes children will steal your things. Especially when they find out that Hermione is your mother." With that, he wheeled himself out of the room. I wasn't fooled by that. I knew exactly who he was. If there was one thing my mother had hammered into my brain, it was Greek history. Most people called it mythology.

I moved to take my mother's hand in my own. It was the only comfort I could get from her until she woke up and was herself again.

I thought back to when I was younger and still traveled with my mother. We had encountered probably a few hundred monsters before I started to live with Gran. I couldn't understand how my mother could have been beaten by a monster after the number we destroyed or escaped from unscathed... well, usually unscathed.

My free hand traveled to my stomach where I had some pretty nasty scars. A hellhound when I was five. To this day, I don't know how I managed to survive as I'm pretty sure my mother didn't have any ambrosia or nectar with her―the food and drink of the gods have healing properties for demigods, so long as we didn't consume too much. She tells me that it must be the fact that I have three-fourths divine blood, but I've never really believed that.

After a short while, I must have fallen asleep, because the next thing I knew, I was in the past. I knew it was the past because I was in the seat on a train, and my mother was wearing a blonde wig that she lost years ago. I quickly knew what was coming. I tried to speak, to move, but I couldn't. Not until I heard the growling behind us.

I don't remember exactly where we were or why the train cart was so empty that day, but we were the only two in the car. I had barely even heard the growling and already my mother was out of her seat, facing the Hellhound.

It was big, and that's not just because I was five. It towered over my mom. I was beginning to wonder how if fit in the car.

"Run," my mother said, drawing her butterfly swords. However, before she could, as I was running down the aisle toward the door to the next car, where the huge hound would not be able to follow me, it charged. He swung his head at my mother, knocking her into a row of seats, and was at me the next second.

I tripped, falling to the ground. I rolled over to see the hound, maybe defend myself with the small dagger my mother allowed me to carry, but it slashed at me, tearing through my dress, through my skin. I screamed loudly as it did this again. A large glob of drool fell from its mouth, right above the would, but began dripping in, which was causing more pain. I couldn't breath, and I definitely couldn't move.

Just as it was inches from eating me, it howled. My mother had stabbed it in the haunch with one of her swords. While it was momentarily distracted, my mother jumped over the seats of several rows as quickly as she could, and sliced at the dog's neck. Her sword wasn't very long, so even though blood began to drip, it was still alive. It snapped at her, just missing as she ducked between the seats. From there, she stabbed it in the foot. It howled again and whimpered. My mother jumped up again, taking off a chunk of its nose, which immediately disintegrated to gold dust. She kept slashing at it, driving it back, until she got another good shot at it's neck, penetrating the vein. And then it was gone.

By this time, I had lost all ability to scream. I couldn't feel anything anymore, not pain, not even tingling. It was as if I no longer had a body. I know my body was shaking, because my mother came and tried to hold me still for a moment. But then she didn't care about that as she took in my stomach. She just stared, the tears pouring down her cheeks.

"Dawn, baby, don't you dare die on me," she said. "I'm warning..." she choked as she tried to speak. "Help!" she cried loudly. No one appeared. "Lord Hermes!" Still no one. I believe my body had stopped shaking. I couldn't see much, just a watery image of the ceiling over me. "Patéras!" This sounded a bit less foreign to me at the time because I primarily spoke Greek, but still, there was no one where. "PATÉRAS!"

This was the last thing I heard before I had lost consciousness when I was five, but now I could see what was still happening, but not from my own eyes anymore. My mother's blonde wig was falling off her head slowly. I was a bloody mess, as were my mother's hands as she was trying to keep the blood from flowing from my body.

There was a flash from behind where I was looking, and my mother looked up. I turned to see a man wearing what resembled a UPS outfit, though not quite as it had Greek letters rather than UPS written on it. His hair was all salt and pepper, and his elvish feathers were just like my mother's.

"I need your help," she pled with him. "She's just a little girl."

"Consequences must be paid sometimes," Hermes said.

"I've done what you've requested of me," my mother cried. "I am your patron... I'm your loyal servant... your daughter. She is your grandchild!"

"Why not call for her father?" Hermes asked.

My mother choked on a sob. Her face was tear-stained, mascara streaked. "Please," she said in a quiet voice very uncharacteristic of the woman that had raised me for ten years.

"Close your eyes," he said. My mother did as requested and I turned away. There was another bright flash. When the light dimmed, I turned back, but he was gone. I was completely healed, four thick scars over my stomach.

And then I nine, the incident from four years early not making it known in my mind as my mother and I stood back to back, five Hellhounds around us. We were in a hotel lobby this time, and everyone had already run, some yelling about wolves, jaguars, and even one person swearing that there were rhinos.

These were much smaller than the one from when I was five.

"Are you ready, Dawn?" my mother asked. The Hellhounds were closing in.

"Let's go before we run out of room to fight," I replied. I could only imagine my mother smiled. We each jumped forward, her pulling the butterfly swords always holstered in her jacket, and me snapping the whip that had been acting as a belt.

I cracked the whip, throwing one hound back. Another jumped, but I ran and slid under it. I snapped the whip at it's front paw, flipping it onto its back. A moment later, I cracked it hard against one running at me, which destroyed the creature due to the whip being made of Celestial Bronze. I cracked it again, against a second one. This one whimpered loudly, but backed up for a moment. I ran at it, jumping onto a chair, then a table, and high enough that I sailed over its head, landing on its back. A moment later, I was sitting on it like it was a horse. Grabbing a fistful on fur with my free hand, I snapped my whip at the one that charged me earlier. This time I took off its ear, which freaked him out and he rammed into a support pillar.

At this point, I noticed that one was sneaking up on my mom as she faired against the same one she had been battling. I steered the dog I was on in that direction. I cracked the whip against its back and it ran. I whipped the one sneaking up on my mother as hard as I could, just as it tried to bite her. His teeth had barely begun to graze her arm when I destroyed it and it was gold dust.

Of course, this distracted my mother, and while her head was turned, I took care of the Hellhound she had been battling. One more snap of the whip got the one that charged for a third time.

The Hellhound I was on, finally threw me off. I landed hard on my back, my whip falling from my hand. Before it could injure me, my mother was standing over me, her sword going straight up into the canine's head.

"Why were you on its back?" my mother asked, looking down at me.

"Because it couldn't bite or scratch me up there..." I said. "Why weren't you guarding your back?"

My mother's cheeks turned red.

"Time to awake, my darling," my mother's voice said in my ear.

I opened my eyes to see that I was back at Camp Half-Blood. It was dark outside the window. I looked around; we were the only ones in the room. There was a tray with two plates, one empty of food and one looked untouched.

"You ate without me?" I asked.

"I tried to wake you, but you were out cold," my mother said, a bright smile on her face. A bit of it seemed forced.

I straightened out in the chair I was in, my back now hurting after having fallen asleep at an awkward angle. "Is that for me?" I asked, nodding at the second plate.

She nodded and handed it to me. "It might be a bit cold," she warned as I grabbed the fork. I began shoveling some mashed potatoes into my mouth. I didn't care that they were room temperature, I was hungry. I hadn't eaten all day, not to mention that I didn't get more than two bites of lunch or any dinner the day before. The chicken was quite good, despite not being remotely warm anymore.

"How long ago was this brought in?" I asked before forking a piece of broccoli into my mouth.

"Maybe two hours," my mother said.

I sighed as I finished chewing the veggie and swallowed. "You're not staying," I said slowly. "Are you?"

"I'm leaving tomorrow," she said. "But not until about noon. We'll spend the morning together... Deal?"

I nodded. I held up a hand, pinky out. My mother looped her pinky around mine and we shook. The unbreakable pinky promise, which was to us what swearing upon the River Styx was to others.

"We should head to Cabin Eleven then," my mother said once I had finished eating.

"Cabin Eleven?" I asked. It took me a moment to remember that Chiron said that Troy was taking my stuff there.

"It's the Hermes cabin," my mother said. "And the cabin of unclaimed half-bloods."

"But, I'm not a half-blood," I reminded my mother.

She stopped, and looked at me. "Well, demigod..." she said. "Come on, I want to see if my bed is still open."

I nodded and followed my mother out.


	6. Braxton: My Quick annoyance Back at Camp

**A thanks to Devil in the Mist for allowing me to use his character James, in this chapter.**

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Braxton: My Quick Annoyance Back at Camp

I had never been to camp during the school year. Last summer had been my first and only time to Camp Half-Blood, and though I was happy to be alive, I wasn't happy to be back.

I opened the door to the Eris cabin in a huff, disturbing my half sister. She had been reading a book on her bed, but threw it down when she spotted me.

"Brax!" She enveloped me in a tight hug.

Nothing makes sense about my sister. She has the personality of a child of Hebe, way overly friendly and happy. She looks like a child of Demeter, completely average. And the favorite colors of any Aphrodite child, pink and gold. She's handy with a sword, when she's battling a practice dummy, but she almost always refuses to strike anyone else unless defending her life.

Though I've never met my mother, I cannot imagine that she is proud of Reis. In fact, we have two things in common; we both eat an apple a day (though she prefers honeycrisp, ambrosia, or pink ladies and I stick solely to granny smiths) and we share the same dark brown eyes, so dark that they're almost black.

I do wonder how she survived the war against the Titans, though. I was safely tucked away in Montana at the time, but she had already been attending camp for a few years, and she was there, at the battle in New York City. I mean, sure, I've seen her precisely hack a practice dummy to pieces, but I can't see her striking anything living, whether demigod, monster, or anything.

I finally pushed Reis off me. "Hi," I said simply, and dropped my backpack on my bed. I noticed that my space was almost exactly how I left it, only my bed was actually made. Reis was a year-rounder after an attack of telkhines sank her sailboat and her father along with it. She managed only to get away by luck of being just off the coast of camp. When she officially crossed into the boarders of camp, the telkhines couldn't follow.

"Why'd you come?" she asked. "I mean, I found out from Chris that you were coming back, but what made you change your mind?"

"Getting attacked by monsters sure helps," I told her. She's really clingy to me, because I'm pretty much the only family she has left. I mean, she has our mother, but neither of us have ever met the goddess.

"And you didn't get hurt?" Reis asked. "No maiming?"

"Uh, well, I was sort of rescued by another demigod," I told her. I left out the details. I didn't need her to know it was a woman twice her age. Instead, I jumped onto my bed and kicked off my shoes. She frowned at this action, and within seconds, she had collected my shoes and placed them at the foot of my bed neatly.

"That's good," Reis said. "I didn't know any others lived in Montana..."

"Traveling to camp," I said simply. We both knew several half-bloods that lived in California, so this was plausible. "Anyway, I came here with a few others. New half-bloods and such."

"Really?" Reis suddenly sounded interested. "Any girls?"

"Two," I said. "They're both head over heels for me already."

"Oh, you wish, Brax," Reis said. "They probably plotted to make you think that, just so that they could make a fool of you later."

I decided to change the subject. "So, not as many campers are here as I expected with the number of attacks you told me about."

"Those that haven't come back are taking cover, waiting for either a satyr or a few Half-Bloods to pick them up. Stolls left this morning for Alabama, and I believe Clarisse is waiting for something closer to her home before she goes far out."

"And you're not out because?" I asked.

She shrugged. I knew the reason was because Chiron wouldn't send any but the best out alone, and not many people would want to go with Reis. Me either. Mostly on account of who our mother is. It was really annoying how judgmental demigods can be, especially as Reis is one of the nicest people at this place.

"So, tell me about the new girls," Reis said. "Do they know their parents?"

"Well, not officially," I said. "One knows Hermes _isn't_ her father, but she doesn't know who her father is, and the other one, my guess is Mr. D."

"Pollux is gonna have a sister?" Reis questioned, excitedly. "You know, it's possible that the other could be our sister."

"No, not unless Eris can impregnate other women," I said.

"Hey, she is a goddess, so I wouldn't be surprised," Reis said.

"Anyway, her eyes are blue," I told Reis. "She'd need dark brown eyes to be our sister."

"It could be a coincidence that we both have dark eyes," Reis said. "After all, my dad had brown eyes."

"And my dad has green eyes," I reminded her. "So, the eyes I'm pretty sure I got from our mother."

"Anyway, their ages?"

"Mine," I said. "Or about. Hey, do you know the satyr Troy?" She knew a lot more of the camp's residents than me.

"Yeah, why?" she asked. "They didn't actually send him somewhere, did they?"

"Yeah, they did," I said. "He was with the girls when we met up."

"But he can't... smell."

"So we learned the hard way," I said. "One of the girls managed to see completely through the mist. I'm not sure how, but she wasn't fooled for a second by the empousa that tried to intercept us in Chicago."

"Empousa?" she questioned. "Hey, I wonder if Percy's back." She was suddenly leaving.

Reis has this delusion that she has a chance with Percy Jackson. She doesn't. First off, half the girls here are in love with him, and most of them are a lot prettier and more interesting than Reis. Second, he has Annabeth Chase as a girlfriend. And if that power couple ever breaks up, everyone knows that his second choice is the Oracle of Delphi, Rachel Dare. And sure, she's not supposed to become engaged romantically, but there are times when she looks at him, I get the feeling that, if he and Annabeth ever did break up, Rachel might give up her power and position to be with him. Save the world a few times over and suddenly you're every woman's fantasy. I've seen Aphrodite girls offer to allow him to splash them with water, while they were wearing tight white tops. The idiot declined, ruining it for the other five of us guys at the beach at the time.

While I give off the idea that I prefer the cabin empty, it did feel really dark and lonely without her around. She is my sister, after all, and I do love her, I guess. After a moment, I rolled my eyes and pulled my shoes back on so I could follow her.

She was already up ahead by the Olympian cabins. I looked around to see who was there. Mercedes Richman, better known as Mercy, was sitting on top of the Hermes cabin enjoying what seemed to be freshly picked strawberries. Chances were she was plotting some prank. The Tinti sisters were arguing, which was no surprise. Bonnie and Melissa Tinti were daughters of Aphrodite and Demeter by the same man, and they hate one another quite passionately, mostly because Bonnie (real name Bonita, one guess which her mother is) is a slut, bitch, and dumb as bricks, and aims all her spite at poor, defenseless Melissa. Granted, at this moment, Katie Gardner was defending her little sister quite passionately. Katie rarely takes into account that, had Aphrodite not stolen the Napa Cowboy (Mr. Tinti), Demeter would never have settled with her father that year. Aaron Eaton-Sanders was in front of his cabin, ignoring the girl fight while he inspected his double-headed spear; how like a child of Ares to ignore a cat fight to play with a weapon.

It was a moment later that Clarisse stuck her head out a window and yelled at the three girls to be quiet. Reis was already rounding to the front of Cabin Three, Poseidon's cabin.

She, however, lost my attention when I spotted Red heading into the area, Mr. D with her, his hand on her shoulder. Everyone stopped and turned to stare. It was a rare sight that Mr. D actually talks to any camper, not to mention being nice, showing one around personally, and being jolly. Apparently, my guess had been correct.

"Your brother Pollux is currently at his home with his mother, but he should be here in just a week or two," Mr. D was telling her. He reached the door to Cabin Twelve. His eyes began to travel around as Mary-Ann was inspecting the vines that ran up and down the majority of the cabin. He suddenly was looking around. "Where's that satyr with your stuff?"

Suddenly, Troy came huffing and puffing into the area, carrying all of the stuff Mary-Ann and Dawn had brought with him. He hurried to Cabin Twelve and put down the duffle bag.

"Thanks, Troy," Mary-Ann said. Her face was slowly turning the color of her hair as she realized everyone was staring at her. Mr. D must have sensed this too, because a moment later, he bellowed out, "Don't you all have better things to be doing? And you, off the roof." His voice lowered as he mumbled, "don't need to be paying to fix roofs."

Mercy stood up, then ran and jumped, landing nimbly on her feet, despite Katie's shrieks. She trotted up to Mr. D and Mary-Ann. "Hi, I'm Mercy," she said, holding out her hand to Mary-Ann. Mary-Ann just looked shocked.

"Ah, Marcella Richards," Mr. D got her name wrong, as he does with everyone but his own children. "Thank you for volunteering. Mary-Ann here needs someone to show her around and teach her about Camp Half-Blood. Someone to help her assimilate."

"Will do," Mercy nodded. She grabbed Mary-Ann's wrist and started pulling her along, chattering away. After a moment, I followed and caught up. It seemed like a better option than watching Reis drool over Percy or sitting alone in my cabin.

"Camp usually isn't this empty," Mercy was saying when I caught up. "Well, actually, during the school year there's usually less people here, but in a month or so, there will be so many other campers you won't know who to speak to."

Mary-Ann seemed to notice me first. "Um, hi Braxton..."

Mercy looked at me past Mary-Ann. "You know... him?" We're not on best terms.

"We traveled here together," I informed Mercy.

"Oh, you poor dear," Mercy said to Mary-Ann. "Don't worry, only a very small percentage of the campers here are like him. Most are a lot nicer."

"Where's Dawn?" I asked.

"Oh, apparently some others actually went out and brought her mother here," Mary-Ann said.

"Percy did go out with Blackjack and came back with a passed out woman with him... and Annabeth, of course," Mercy said. "You two know her?"

"Probably Dawn's mother," Mary-Ann said.

"Why bring a normal mortal woman here?" Mercy asked. "That's against the rules."

"She's not normal," Mary-Ann said. "She's a Half-Blood. And her daughter is a three-fourths blood then, I guess."

I rolled my eyes as Mercy stared at Mary-Ann. Mary-Ann, still not versed in the rules of the Olympians, didn't realize what Dawn really was to our world.

"That's just a war waiting to happen between the gods," Mercy said. "And I think it's against the rules..."

Mary-Ann looked confused for a few moments. I wasn't surprised. She didn't seem like the brightest of girls.

"Whichever god bagged Hermione is going to piss off Hermes when he finds out," I said. "Some side with Hermes, while others side with the other god."

"Did you say Hermione?" Mercy asked, but I ignored her as I kept explaining.

"Tensions get too stressed, and you have the gods fighting, which will result in the demigods fighting, which is not going to be good."

"Hermione as in Westbrook?" Mercy asked again. Mary-Ann was about to answer, so I launched into another explanation.

"Also, it's against the gods law to have a child with a demigod because it would create a sort of super demigod. If it was one of the Big Three, Dawn would probably have enough power to defeat every demigod here, take over the mortal world, stuff like that. Any other Olympian, and she'd still be super powerful. The minor gods, still probably more powerful than most of the children of Olympians, because we know for a fact she's got Hermes in her."

"Would you shut up already!" Mercy snapped. Her elvish face was beginning to turn as red as the red streaks in her blond hair. "When you said Hermione..."

"Hermione Westbrook is Dawn's mother," Mary-Ann said.

"Seriously!" Mercy squealed.

"Only a child of Hermes would run and get an autograph book for a thief," I said, rolling my eyes.

Mercy responded with a hard elbow to my ribs. "Jerk," she mumbled before turning back to Mary-Ann with a smile. "Remind me to meet her before she has a chance to leave. But, for now, let's show you the rest of the camp." She turned to me. "Are you going to be annoying and follow or are you going to go brood a bit more?"

"I'm sure I can entertain myself, thank you," I snarled back. With that, I turned back to my cabin. If nothing better, at least I could practice some skills with my sword for a while. Maybe even get Reis to help.

Back at my cabin, I grabbed my sword, which was mounted above my bed. It was a large broad sword of celestial bronze... nothing special. It didn't have any special enhancements to hide from the mist. I didn't exactly need something outside of camp as I wasn't exactly a pro with the thing. I dragged the thing out to the practice arena and set up a dummy. Holding the sword up, I took a deep breath, and then swung. It hit a little lower than I wanted it to. Nor did it hit hard enough.

"You know, you'd have better luck with a smaller weapon," a boy from behind me said. I turned to glare. I recognized him as a boy from the Hephaestus cabin named James. He stood taller than me, by several inches, as well as broader than me. He was essentially made of muscles. Even so, I knew he was about my age. He had a huge weapon, a sort of halberd, but with the ax widening into a hammer on the far side. He probably made it himself.

"You've got a pretty large weapon," I remarked.

"Yeah, but I also have the strength to wield it," he said. With that, he demonstrated, swinging it hard and lodging it into the wall. It only took him a small tug to get it out.

I just rolled my dark brown eyes and turned back to the dummy. Behind me, I could still hear James swinging his ax-hammer around, though he wasn't actually hitting anything with it.

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**I would really appreciate reviews, if you guys are reading. Preferred is constructive criticism, but I'll accept anything. What do you like so far, what don't you like? Your favorite character? Least favorite? **


	7. Mary Ann: I Meet My Dad

**Okay, I'm not sure if I mentioned this or showed it in any way, but this story is supposed to take place just before summer two years after TLO. There is one summer in between.**

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Mary-Ann: I Meet My Dad's Wife

"And this is the climbing rock wall," Mercy said as we approached a huge wall sticking up out of the ground. I noticed blackened spots on it.

"Fancy a climb?" she asked. I simply shook my head. Good thing too, because suddenly lava was spurting from a crack on the wall.

I hadn't known Mercy for very long, but she had already managed to show me most of the camp, not that I remembered how to get anywhere but the Big House and 'Thalia's Pine,' because those were visible from most spots we had been. Mercy was a girl from Ohio, a year older than I was. She was an obvious gymnast, as she would sometimes opt to cartwheel or flip rather than walk.

Aside from that, she looked a bit like Hermione, only younger, tanner, and blonde. Mercy's eyes were a bit lighter blue, but her elvish face mirrored Hermione's a lot, which made sense as they were technically sisters. Mercy's blonde hair fell a few inches below her shoulders, and she had it streaked rainbow red.

"Have you got your shirts yet?" she asked randomly.

"Um... shirts?" I asked slowly.

She pointed to her orange shirt. "Your Camp Half-Blood shirt," she said. She had played around with hers, that was obvious. She had cut the sleeves into strips, which she knotted each of. She had done the same thing to the bottom, only just up to her belly and she had added beads to these strips with rattled with every movement she made. Whenever she was upside down for a second (flipping or cartwheeling), her belly was visible, and I noticed a few guys watch.

I noticed she also would sometimes tug on a leather necklace with three beads on it. I finally decided to ask as she was tugging at it, trying to decide what to show me next.

"Huh?" she questioned. "Oh, it's a camp thing. You'll get one at the end of summer. There's a bead for each summer. About something big that happened over that summer. This one was because of this quest that one girl had in The Labyrinth, and the monsters that used it to get into camp. Big battle. This one was for when we all went to the Big Apple and defended it from the Titans. Big battle, lots of deaths, but they're all mentioned on here. I barely survived that. And this one was last summer when Nico battled and defeated a Manticore that got past the camp's defenses." The first one had a maze on it, the second the Empire State Building and hundreds of Greek letters, and the third had what looked like a lion with a scorpion tail.

"Um, may I ask how often people die here?" I decided to ask.

"Um, well, last year, no one died..." Mercy said. "The years before, a lot... and so far this year, well, a few. Depends on how active monsters are and all. We're all kind of surprised right now by how the monsters started to pop up all over and attack. Usually, there will be a monster or two that we have to face or escape at some point or another, but not swarms of them, or waves of attacks." For the first time, she kind of looked worried.

"Why did you come back early?" I asked hesitantly.

"I'm not here early," Mercy said. "My mother is away a lot, so last August I decided to see how a year here would go... I don't think I'll do it again, maybe, I'm not sure." She reached into her pocket and pulled out a pack of gum. She popped a piece in her mouth. "Want some?" she asked before she began to chew.

"No thanks," I said.

"Well, I guess I've shown you the whole camp really," she said. "Let's head back to the Mess Hall. It's almost time for grub."

She had already explained to me how the seating arrangements worked for the mess hall, so I wasn't really looking forward to that. My only apparent brother was still at his home, so I'd be sitting all alone. Apparently, table arrangements had recently changed, but it still left me alone at what was a smaller table than some of the other tables. All the Olympians had a table honoring them, whether or not they had any kids, as did Hades. But then there were several tables for the minor gods, each table being for several gods rather than just one.

The Mess Hall had people in it when we arrived. I heard Mercy squeal next to me when we entered and she ran and jumped into the arms of a boy a few years older than us, sixteen or seventeen. Next to him stood a boy that looked just a bit older, but otherwise almost the same. He was talking with a brunette I had seen earlier.

"Mary-Ann," Mercy called me over. "Come meet my favorite brothers!"

I sighed and approached, knowing I was about the meet the boys that Mercy talked about at least at every other sight we had visited. Usually it involved a prank they had pulled at each site.

"Hey there, Little Red," the one that Mercy had hugged said, messing up my hair a little more if possible. "I'm Connor."

"You better not be torturing her already, Connor," the brunette said, turning her green eyes on Connor.

"Calm your horses, Katie," Connor said. "I've barely met her."

"She's Dionysus's daughter." Katie added in a bit of a lower voice. It was still plenty loud.

This caught the attention of pretty much everyone. Most had not been around when Mr. D (calling him anything else just doesn't seem right at the moment) walked me to my cabin.

A few moments after everyone started to stare, they all broke into little conversations, whispering... about me.

I figured out which table was mine and took a seat. As if being alienated at school out of the choice of all my peers was bad enough, now I was alone due to some stupid rule about having to sit with only your cabin. I had kind of hoped that I wouldn't be all alone here but so far it didn't seem much different from school.

And then Troy was jogging up to me. "Hello," he said taking a seat next to me. A few people whispered a bit about it, but no one objected. "Dionysus gave me permission to sit with you as Pollux isn't here and he doesn't want you to be alone." He looked a bit nervous.

"He ordered you to sit with me, huh?" I guessed.

"He didn't order me to," Troy said. "I kind of asked to."

"Why?"

"Because you're new to camp and your alone at your table," Troy said. "I thought you'd like someone to sit with you..."

I glanced at the table where Mr. D was sitting, his eyes on Troy and me. I sent a smile at him, and he smiled back briefly, before turning to the rest of camp. Noticing that Mr. D wasn't watching his every move seemed to calm Troy down.

I cocked my head to the side. "Why were you sent to me?" I asked after a moment.

"What?" Troy asked.

"Why you?" I asked again. "Why not another satyr? Or one of the demigods?"

"Well, there was no actual evidence that there was a demigod where you lived," Troy said. "With the way things are right now, I guess that they sent me because I'm expendable."

"That's a horrible way to think of things," I said.

"If they had any idea who was there, Mr. D would have sent the best," Troy said. "He probably would have sent Percy, Annabeth, and Nico."

"Who?" I asked. I imagine that I must have had a totally blank expression on my face.

"The boy and girl from your dream," Troy said. "They are a son of Poseidon and a daughter of Athena. And Nico is a son of Hades."

"Wait... isn't Athena a virgin goddess?" I asked. I'm pretty sure that she was, at the very least. After all, Greek Mythology had been my best subject... ever.

"Um, well, her children are literal brain children," Troy said. "You know how she was born..."

"Zeus ate her mother when she was pregnant and Athena burst forth from his head," I said.

"Well, her children are similar," Troy said.

"They burst forth from her head fully grown and wearing battle garb?" That kind of freaked me out.

"Not that literal," Troy said. "But they're the combined minds of Athena and the fathers."

Okay, that wasn't quite as weird. Still a little, but it was something that I was at least able to wrap my mind around without wanting to cower in fear.

I still wasn't entirely convinced that this wasn't just a really big hoax... or a long, realistic, bad dream. "You know, my life was perfectly normal before you showed up, so I think I have you to blame for all of this."

Troy could only shrug.

I learned a few things about demigods during dinner. First, we'd have to give a portion of each of our meals to the hearth for the gods, and it was supposed to be the best bit. Second, I learned that Hermes had the most kids, followed by Apollo. I also learned that Braxton had a sister, Reis. She looked nice enough.

I also learned that a lot of the kids steered clear of Reis and Braxton, and not for any good reason, but because their mother was Eris. I learned that the kids from the Morpheus Cabin and the Hypnos Cabin spent most of their time together, and their cabins were connected through a door. I learned that there was only one cabin for all the children of the Erotes... not that it made a difference as only Eros seemed to have a child. As well, there was only one cabin for the children of Phobos and Deimos... which also didn't matter because the only child of Phobos was just a summer camper and Deimos had no children.

I also learned that the guys from the Hephaestus cabin were flirts. The girls from the Aphrodite cabin mostly wore pink (though there was an exception). The Apollo cabin liked to sing. The Hermes cabin liked to pull pranks. And Percy Jackson also was sitting mostly alone, except for a satyr, which Troy informed me was named Grover.

As soon as dinner was over, I decided to head to my cabin. I wanted to get to sleep early. Troy walked me most of the way until another satyr called him over. We were at the cabins and figured I'd find the cabin on my own.

The first thing I noticed when I opened the door was that my stuff was at the foot of a bed right by the door. The second thing I noticed was the woman sitting patiently on my bed wearing a shimmering silver robe. I don't know how I missed her at first. She stood a little taller than the average woman, a little short of six feet. She had long brown hair in beautiful waves that fell down her back and over her shoulders, and sparkling brown eyes. She was absolutely beautiful. Her skin was pale, but unlike mine, it looked like porcelain.

She smiled warmly, but a bit sadly, at me. "Dear child, you are certainly one of a kind."

"Um... Do you mind me asking who you are?" I asked. I figured she was a goddess, but I didn't know if I should just know who she was, or if it was proper to just wait until she introduced herself.

Her smile grew a bit as she giggled. "I am sorry," she said and stood. "I am Ariadne." She gave me a small bow... not like I was supposed to be bowed to, but more as a form of greeting, like some people shake hands.

"You're..." I began, but stopped. "I'm Mary-Ann," I said. I tried to imitate her bow, but miserably failed. "I'm sorry, I've never met a goddess before. And especially as you're Mr. D's wife..."

"You know your history," she said. "But, Mr. D? Is that how people are supposed to address their fathers?"

"Well, I hardly know him," I said. "Just the stories I've read about him. I don't feel familiar enough to call him anything but Mr. D. As well, I don't want him to treat me differently from the other campers, so I shouldn't treat him differently than how they should treat him."

"You know he will treat you differently," Ariadne said. "But, it is nobel that you're not using that as an advantage."

"Do you mind me asking another question?" I asked.

"Not at all," she said. "After all, I am the one that came into your..." she looked around, not sure what to call it, "hut..."

"Why are you here?" I asked, trying not to sound offensive.

"I make it a point to meet my husband's children," Ariadne said. "He is mostly faithful, but like any god, he does stray. I like to know what his children are like."

"So, I'm kind of a painful reminder for you?" I asked. Before I could stop myself, I went on. "You're not going to be cruel and subject me to a ton of labors the way Hera did to Heracles, are you? You look too kind."

She giggled again. "Not at all. And thank you for saying I look kind. I'm not sure if I have heard that in the thousands of yours I've been around. I think I'll like you, Mary-Ann. You're still growing into who you are, but I believe that you will make your father proud."

"By proud..." What I imagined would make the father of wine and madness proud before would have been a raving drunk. I really hope that Ariadne thought that's what I would grow into.

"You will do great things, child."

My cheeks flushed a bit. "I don't think so," I said. "I don't think I was meant for anything big. I'm still not entirely convinced that I'm a demigod."

"You must be," Ariadne said. "Only demigods and gods can pass the boundaries of this camp, for the most part."

"Oh..." I said slowly, feeling a bit dumb.

"You will get the hang of it," Ariadne said. "Everyone eventually does." She gestured to the bed where a small pile of orange shirts appeared. "I believe those will be your size. I look forward to dining with you tomorrow morning. But, for now, you look very tired. Get a good night's sleep." She then made her way out of the cabin.


	8. Dawn: Learning the Camp

**A thank you is awarded to 3AllTimeLowLover3 for her character Lexi, used in this chapter.**

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Dawn: Learning The Camp

I woke the next morning before anyone else in the cabin. I don't know how it happened as I was exhausted and my mother and I had slipped in sometime after everyone else was already asleep.

As long as I was awake, I decided to explore a bit. I grabbed some clean clothes and made my way outside. There were only a few other people up. After all, it was still mostly dark out.

"You must be one of the new girls," a girl said approaching me. She had pale skin and black hair, but with colored highlights.

"Um, yeah," I said. "Just looking for the bathrooms..."

"Oh, they're right that way," she said pointing to a building just past some cabins. "I'm Lexi, by the way. Daughter of Nyx." She held out a hand to me.

"Dawn," I said, shifting my hold on my stuff so I could shake her hand. "Daughter of Hermione."

She stared at me for a moment. "Do you mean Hermes?"

"No," I said. "I'm a daughter of a daughter of Hermes. And daughter of some other god as well. I don't know which one."

"Well, you'll find out soon enough," Lexi said. "You look like you're almost thirteen."

I forced a smile. "Well, I'm just going to shower and stuff," I said, slipping away. No need to tell her I had turned thirteen a few months ago.

The camp still seemed dead when I got out of the bathroom half an hour later, though the sun was actually starting to show. As far as I could tell, there were less people awake. I decided to check on Mary-Ann and see how she was doing.

Finding the Dionysus cabin was not difficult. It was the only one with grapevines all over it. I peeked inside a window next to the door, and saw only one occupant. So, I knocked.

Mary-Ann sat up, looking around in confusion for a few moments before she seemed to remember what had happened over the past two days. She then fell backwards and pulled her pillow over her face.

I knocked again.

"Coming," I heard Mary-Ann call out. She opened the door and stared at me in slight anger. I had never seen her this early before. I avoided her apartment while her mother was still home usually, and she wasn't allowed to have sleep-overs... or go to them. Her hair looked a bit more out-of-control than usual and she looked exhausted. She perked up a bit noticing it was me.

"How was yesterday for you?" I asked, inviting myself in.

"Um, long," Mary-Ann said going to her bag. On top sat five folded orange shirts. I wondered where she got them. "Exhausting. I met too many people, and I only remember three names. Clarisse, Mercy, and Ariadne."

"Okay, I'm with you on Clarisse, but the other two..."

"Mercy is a daughter of Hermes," Mary-Ann said. "And Ariadne as in the princess of Crete."

"As in your step-mother?" I asked. Was still a little jealous.

Mary-Ann nodded. She pulled out a demin skirt that was actually a hand-me-down from me, and a pair of black capri leggings. I was unaware that she had packed either. However, once she had the whole outfit on, she looked a lot more like a camper than I did... it was all in the shirt.

She pulled out a hairbrush and began at brushing her hair in the only reflective surface in the room, which happened to be an empty wine bottle.

"What time is it?" Mary-Ann asked.

"Not sure," I said. "Maybe 6:12 or so."

"Seems a bit specific for someone not sure of the time," Mary-Ann pointed out. She was right, though specific guesses were something I had been doing for years.

"And if it's so early, why did you wake me?" Mary-Ann asked, finally giving up on her hair and pulling it into a sloppy pony-tail.

"Because, we have a whole camp to explore," I said. "I don't want to waste a moment. And, I'd like to be able to know what I want to do with my mom, and how to get to the places when she wakes up in about an hour."

"Your mom is still here?" Mary-Ann asked, hesitating a little bit.

"Of course," I said smiling. Seeing as my mother had pretty clearly expressed that she didn't want to be here for more than a few minutes, I did understand her confusion. "But, just for this morning. So, let's hurry."

"But Mercy already showed me most of the camp," Mary-Ann said.

"And you remember it all?" I asked. I knew she wouldn't.

"Um, well..."

"So, let's go," I said and grabbed her hand.

We wandered around for about forty-five minutes. We wandered the edge of the forest, found the forge, the climbing wall, the amphitheater, and most importantly, the arena. Returning to the cabin area, we found that the area was in a frenzy. I wasn't surprised to find that my mother was in the center of it all.

Apparently, the next camper to wake up in Cabin Eleven after me noticed my mother, and didn't recognize her. As my mother was a full grown woman, not a kid, he attacked. Which evidently woke everyone up, and someone yelled that we were under attack, and before anyone knew it, everyone was running out of their cabin, still in pajamas, weapons in hand. It wasn't until two of Hermes's sons that had once met my mother saw who was getting attacked that they managed to stop it, and then introduced her to everyone else. For all the Hermes campers, it was a great honor to be in my mother's presence. For the others, like those that knows she's on the FBIs most wanted list, it was probably a bit intimidating.

"Dawnie," Mom called to me upon spotting Mary-Ann and I approaching. People parted to let her through. "Why are you already up and dressed? Breakfast isn't for another hour."

"Couldn't help it," I said. "I was too excited for us to spend the day together."

Mom smiled at me. "Of course," she said. "What do you want us to do first?"

"I don't know," I said. "What was your favorite thing to do when you were at camp?"

Mom giggled a bit. "How about you show me that you've been keeping up your skills," she said.

"Oh, a showdown!" a tall boy with curly brown hair and blue eyes said.

"It's not a spectator sport, Connor," my mother said. It didn't seem to matter. Within a few minutes, once my mother was dressed and we each grabbed a few weapons, we headed out to the arena. A few kids from Cabin Eleven found us armor, and it seemed that the whole camp was crowding around the walls. I spotted Mary-Ann, looking a bit lost, and next to her was Troy, apparently explaining to her everything she didn't seem to get.

My mother wasn't one for formalities in battle, so she didn't wait for a signal or a handshake before she was coming at me, drawing one of her butterfly swords. I briefly wondered why she only drew one as I grabbed my long bow. I shot an arrow at her, but she literally sliced it in half, before slashing at me. I blocked it with my bow, throwing her armed arm upward. So she attacked with her leg, sending a kick at my side. I went down, but only for a second.

"So you haven't been practicing," she said as I rolled back to my feet.

"No one to practice with, really," I said. "Never met anyone that's at your level." I jumped back as she lunged at me. And then I swung my bow up at her, striking her jaw.

It lasted about fifteen minutes before the clomping of hooves brought attention to Chiron. He didn't say anything, just lifted an eyebrow at the scene of mother and daughter in battle.

"Breakfast is about to be served," he said. "I thought that someone might be hungry.

Boy, was I hungry. I had been up for over two hours, after all. So, my mother and I shed the armor we wore while people filed out of the arena for food.

"Why'd you only use one sword?" I asked.

Mom looked at me, and then smiled. She pulled her other sword out, which was dented and a little twisted. "Not in the best shape," she said. "I've been meaning to get it fixed..."

"Well, this is the perfect time," I said. "Where better to get it fixed than here. And, you could get a child of Hephaestus to do it in minutes." I looked at my mother with pleading eyes. She knew exactly what I was trying to ask.

"Oh, honey, no," she said. "The morning and that's it. We'll climb the wall, jump on to a pegasus, a little archery practice, but you know I can't be confined here. I'm meant to be out in the world."

"No, Mom, you're meant to raise me," I argued. "I'm your daughter. And I love you. Out there... the monsters all come back eventually. You can help train everyone here. They love you already. It could be some stability for you. A vacation from always running from everyone and everything. Running from monsters, running from the police. This is your only sanctuary, and you know it."

She looked at me and shook her head. "It's still no," she said. She kissed my forehead and walked out. By the time I caught up, after wiping my tears off my face, she was in the Dining Pavilion talking to a few burly boys. One of them nodded enthusiastically, so my mother pulled out her two swords and handed them over.

I headed over toward Mary-Ann, who was sitting alone. It seemed odd to me that she would continue the same habits that she had from school, but the annoying blonde girl, Annabeth, intercepted me.

"You can't sit there, Dawn," she said.

"Why not?" I asked, frowning and placing my fists on my hips.

"Because, you have to sit with your siblings," she said. "Or, as I assume you're still unclaimed, with Cabin Eleven. Those are the rules."

"Says who?" I challenged.

"So says Zeus," I heard the voice behind me. I'm not sure how Dionysus got behind me so quietly, but he did. He pointed to the table my mother was now at. "Try not getting my daughter into trouble."

I huffed as silently as I could, knowing that Mr. D had the ability to turn me into a pile of ash if he wished, and made my way to my mother, taking the seat next to her. I looked over to see a beautiful woman sit with Mary-Ann.

"Oh, that's sweet," another girl with blonde hair said. "Ariadne is sitting with Mr. D's daughter."

"So that's Ariadne," I mused. It still seemed weird that Dionysus's wife, former princess of Crete, and not to mention a goddess, would take time to meet and greet Mary-Ann. Nothing against the girl, she is my best friend, but she's only Mary-Ann. There is really nothing spectacular about her... at least not while at Camp Half-Blood. Nothing that really makes her seem divine.

"I wonder what she's doing here," Mom said.

"Visiting Mary-Ann," another camper said. He looked like the guy who had decided that everyone should watch the mother-daughter showdown, but was somehow different.

"What's that, Travis?" my mom asked.

"Ariadne likes to think of Mr. D's kids as her step-children," Travis said.

"Well, they are, right?" I asked.

"But she doesn't want to be the evil step-mother," the other boy said. He really did look a lot like Travis. It was kind of freaky. "She wants them to like her, and for them to think of her as a possible second mother."

"Oh, Mary-Ann would need a real first mother for Ariadne to be the second," I mumbled.

"What's this?" most of the eyes turned to me at the table. I should have not said a thing, especially at a table filled with children of Hermes.

"It's nothing," I said. "And there's nothing you can do to get me to spill." I looked over at Mary-Ann again. She was blushing a bit, but there was actually a smile on her face. "Hey, are we supposed to call Ariadne Mrs. D?" It was mostly to get people onto a new subject and the only thing I could think up on the spot.

"Don't know," Travis said. "We will have to experiment... but not with Mr. D so close."

"I'm sure that there will be opportunity at some point," Connor said. "Mrs. D..." he smiled at it, "seemed much more interested in the camp activities when she came to meet Castor and Pollux than Mr. D ever has been to my knowledge."

After lunch went out, I went with Mary-Ann and a few others to 'Ancient Greek'. I noticed Braxton for the first time that day. However, within a few minutes, it was clear that my mother raising me speaking Ancient Greek for six years meant that I didn't need the class; I really only learned English starting age six, even though I heard it a lot more than Greek. Mary-Ann hadn't seen a Greek letter in her life. I was allowed to go, and found my mother with one of the older children of Hephaestus. They were heading toward the Forge.

"Dawn, this is Jake," Mom said. "Jake, my lovely child. Remember, I am on the FBIs most wanted list."

"Gee, Mom, real way to help me make friends," I said.

"It is helping," Mom said. "Right Jake."

"I'm sure that Dawn and I will be really close, and completely platonic friends," Jake said.

"See," Mom said. "Anyway, Jake's agreed to fix up my swords, like you suggested."

"Shouldn't you be in Ancient Greek Class right now?" Jake asked.

"I speak it," I said. "Raised by a demi-god for ten years."

"Good point," Jake said.

The forge wasn't quite what I expected. I mean, I guess it was a forge, but I expected hot fires and glowing metal everywhere, but definitely not the white columns or the random metal projects on every bench... I really only expected to see swords and work hammers (granted, I did see plenty of both). I had never been in a forge before, so it was a new experience.

"How long will it take you to fix?" Mom asked.

"Well, I'm not sure," he said. "How'd you twist it?"

"Fighting a griffin," Mom said. "It grabbed it in its talon."

"Well, how about I work and meet you at lunch," Jake said. "I'll probably finish it before then, but I think I'd like to add a few improvements to them. And sharpen them. They need it."

"Thanks," Mom said. She smiled at me. "How about you and I go ride some Pegasi."

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**So, what do you think so far? Favorite characters? Least favorites? Also, you can still submit a character to make a cameo. I do kind of need a mean person who likes to either spread gossip or start rumors.**


	9. Braxton: Shock from the Big House

**Hey, I finally have most of the plot all figured out... as in I've decided what the quest will be. Yay!**

**Also, thanks to 3AllTimeLowLover3 for providing a mean girl, though I did change her name because I have a character named Sasha already.**

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Braxton: Shock From the Big House

By the time lunch came around, everyone at camp was talking about Dawn and Hermione. I think the Stolls were ready to cry because she was almost ready to leave. I was fine with her about to leave. She didn't exactly make me comfortable.

However, it seemed that everyone disagreed with me. Cabin Eleven worshipped her. The boys from Cabin Seven all had managed to develop a crush on her. And even those from Cabin Five wanted to learn and train with her because she was so experienced in battle.

"She seems nice enough," Reis said. "It would be good to have someone that we can actually battle with that knows what she's doing. Someone without the advantage of being half horse or a child of Ares."

"When was the last time you were actually in a battle with anyone aside a practice dummy?" I inquired of my sister, turning to look at her.

"The battle in Manhattan," Reis didn't miss a beat. "But, still, I'm a rare case of not wanting to go out and battle anymore. Most demigods are eager and ready to go on a quest." I stared at her. "You yourself could learn a ton from someone with her experience."

"Don't you think it's a little weird to have someone her age here?" I asked, seeing as she had brought up a valid argument.

"That's right, you weren't here for Quintus," Reis mumbled, more to herself more than to me.

"Who?"

"He was a swordsman and helped train here for a while," Reis said. "That was about three years ago now. I was just a year-rounder when he came."

"And what happened to him?" I asked.

"Um... long story," Reis said.

"Anyway, I noticed that things aren't as organized as they are in the summer," I said.

"Yeah, the activities are more free time, so long as we keep up practice on our own," Reis said. "But there are usually a lot less people here, so I think Chiron was going to change that eventually. Anyway, want to work on Archery today?"

"No!"

"A little practice with your sword? I saw that you had used it some yesterday."

"Not really."

"You know that you have to do something, right?" Reis said.

"Isn't Greek lessons enough for a day?" I asked. "And chores? I noticed that we're up for working in the stables some."

"Which would be a perfect opportunity to take a pegasus for a ride," Reis said. She really wanted me to be active at camp. I'm not sure why. I guess it was her odd way of caring for her family.

I, however, was doing my best to block out Reis's dribbling when Chiron approached the Hermes table. He said something to Hermione, which I couldn't hear, and then the two of them walked out. Dawn looked pretty sad to see her mom walking out. I wanted to know what was going. "I'll see you later," I said to Reis, standing up and taking one last gulp of my soda. And then I walked out. Chiron and Hermione weren't too far off, but far enough off that they wouldn't notice me.

I called some power and sent it at a few birds in some bushes. They went crazy for a moment, and Hermione and Chiron turned toward them, away from from me. I quickly dashed behind a bush they were right next to. By the time they turned back one another, I could hear them quite easily.

"You know, you don't have to leave the camp," Chiron said. "I think it would break Dawn's heart if you did leave."

"Chiron, I'm too old to be a camper now," Hermione said. "There's nothing else for me to learn here."

"I didn't mean for you to stay as a camper," Chiron said. "But as a coach. As it is, you are one of the most talented demigods in the last few hundred years with a sword. As well, you have something that even I don't have. You understand the world in its current state."

"You're offering me a job?" Hermione sounded half shocked.

"Yes," Chiron said. "That is exactly what I'm offering you, Hermione. We could use someone with your experience as a teacher."

Hermione seemed to be considering it.

"You'd, of course, would be paid for your time," Chiron said. "Room and board would be provided." He hadn't quite gotten her yet. "And you'd be with Dawn." That got her.

She sighed and nodded. "I'm not sleeping in the Hermes cabin," she said.

"Certainly not," Chiron said. "There are rooms in the Big House. I'll have the Stolls fix whichever one you want up."

Hermione nodded. Chiron began toward the Dining Pavilion, but she got his attention. "Chiron," she said. He stopped and turned to her. "Thank you."

He nodded. "You are welcome," he said, before trotting off.

I turned to go back to my cabin, only to be shocked to see Mercy was crouched next to me. I half jumped out of my skin. She hadn't made a sound.

"What's wrong with you?" she asked. She, of course, was thrilled. Her idol would be staying at camp and would be teaching.

"When did you get there?" I asked.

"I was right behind you the whole time," she said. "You know, you really suck at the whole sneaking thing. If it hadn't been for those birds..."

"You think I didn't have something to do with the birds?" I hissed.

"Oh." She turned to see Hermione was off in the distance a bit. Mercy stood and did a little happy dance. I am not going to lie. She may be slightly insane, and I'm probably paranoid around her because I've seen her pull some crazy stunts, but she was attractive. When she's standing still, it's difficult to see, but she was quite petite and her energy gives off some positive vibes. I sometimes wonder if maybe she's actually some mixture of Hermes, Aphrodite, and Hebe in reality.

Once lunch was officially over, Chiron blew the Conch horn. Everyone went in the direction of the sound. He was in the amphitheater. I really didn't want to go, because I knew exactly what this would be about.

"Hello, Braxton," Mary-Ann said, taking a seat next to me. Dawn was behind her, looking worried and annoyed. "Are we allowed to sit here, or do we have assigned seating?"

"No, you can sit wherever you want," I told them. "Usually, we end up grouping ourselves with our cabins, but there are no seating rules for these meetings."

"Good," Mary-Ann said, blowing a few red curls out of her face. Dawn was still standing, and looking around.

"Do you think she would have actually left without telling me?" Dawn asked, not looking down, or even aiming her question to anyone. I think it was supposed to be rhetorical.

"Hey, girls," Mercy said slipping into a seat next to Mary-Ann, much to Dawn's sudden annoyance. "You." She glared at me for a moment.

"Do you need something, Mercy, or are you here just to annoy me?" I asked.

"Have you told them the news yet?" Mercy asked. She was beaming again.

"The news?" Mary-Ann asked. "What news?"

"I'm pretty sure Chiron is about to announce it," I said. I glanced up at Dawn. "You might want to sit down."

"But, my mother..." Dawn said. She was twisting some of her glossy brown hair in her fingers. However, seeing that pretty much everyone else had sat down, she took my advice, sitting behind Mary-Ann as Mercy had taken her desired seat.

"May I have everyone's attention," Chiron called out, once the din had begun to go down. He waited until everyone stopped talking, and the last stragglers took seats. "As I'm sure everyone knows by now, we have a visitor at camp right now. Hermione Westbrook." All of Hermes's kids began to whoop and cheer. Once that dimmed again, Chiron continued. "She will no longer be a visitor," a lot of moans were heard from this, and Dawn's face visibly dropped. "From now on, Miss Westbrook will be a camp instructor."

"What? Really?" one of the Stoll brothers, I'm not sure which, cried out and jumped up.

"What will she be instructing?" the other asked.

"She will be an instructor in battle abilities," Chiron said. "As she is one of the most talented demigods in battle in years, she will help each of you find and improve your best weapons. As well, she will bring in real world experience. She will take out small teams on real monster hunts."

Pretty much everyone was cheering by now. Mercy was doing her happy dance thing again, and now Dawn was joining her. The two were holding hands and jumping around. Next to me, Mary-Ann sighed, and twisted her mouth up a bit. Apparently I wasn't alone in not being a huge fan of the famous con-woman.

"I can't believe it!" Dawn cried, throwing her arms around an unsuspecting Mary-Ann suddenly. "My mom's staying! Isn't it amazing?"

"It's fabulous," Mary-Ann said, though her voice betrayed her words. Dawn didn't seem to notice.

"I wonder where she is!" she said suddenly, looking around again.

"She went to pack up her stuff and bring it to the Big House," Mercy explained to Dawn.

"How do you know this?" Mary-Ann asked. i would have used an accusatory tone, but I didn't have any right to speak at the moment.

"Because Brax and I spied on her and Chiron," Mercy said in a light happy tone.

"It makes you proud to spy on people," I accused. "Doesn't it?"

"You knew!" Dawn gasped, staring at me with wide blue eyes. "And you didn't mention it to me?"

"It's not like I've known for a long time," I defended myself. "Anyway, Chiron's trying to get attention again."

He stomped his hooves, coughed, but most of the campers were still too excited to pay attention. He finally brought up the conch horn and blew it. That got the attention of everyone.

"Over the next few days, each of you will become organized into groups of five," Chiron announced. "You will go on one day efforts to learn in the field with Miss Westbrook. These are not quests. Groups can be made of both demigods and satyrs. As it is still during the school year, I would like everyone here to go on their field day before the summer begins, starting with those with little to no quest experience."

"I guess that excludes Percy, Annabeth, and Grover," Mercy said. Suddenly, she brightened up a lot. "How about we go as a group!"

"We're only four," Mary-Ann said. I knew that Mercy hadn't meant to include me.

"I can be a fifth," Troy said, joining us.

Chiron looked over at us. "I believe we have our first group of five," he said. "Mercy daughter of Hermes, Mary-Ann daughter of Dionysus, Braxton son of Eris, Dawn daughter of Hermione, and Troy the Satyr. You five will accompany Hermione tomorrow."

I groaned. Of course Chiron would have over-heard us.

I leaned back, eyes closed, as the girls and Troy began gushing in excitement. Somehow, I was hoping I would fall asleep or something. The last thing I wanted to do was go on a mini-quest and get shown up by Dawn and Mercy, as they would both no doubt be better with any weapon than I would be. I already decided that I'd bring two daggers I own rather than my sword that I could barely lift.

And then I heard the the heavy panting, as everyone had quieted down. I opened my eyes and turned to where everyone was looking at Hermione, who had just entered the amphitheater.

"Mom..." Dawn said slowly.

"Hermione, what's the matter?" Chiron asked, leaping from the stage and approaching the demigod woman.

"I've just been to the Big House," she said. "It's Ariadne. She's sick."

This earned a collective gasp, myself included. Goddesses didn't get sick. Not really. Unless it was some strong poison. Chiron's own eyes were wide, but he turned to where Dionysus sitting. "Eyes closed!" Chiron yelled.

"Huh?" Mary-Ann questioned. Not trusting her to close her eyes quickly enough, I clamped both my hands over her eyes, closed my own eyes, and turned away from where Dionysus was for good measure. Even so, I felt the heat from him taking his true form for a moment. After a few moments, Mary-Ann pulling at my hands, I opened my eyes. Dionysus was gone.

"Check to make sure no one was hurt," Chiron said to Hermione, before galloping off toward the Big House.

"What was that about?" Mary-Ann asked. "Is Ariadne going to be okay?" She tried standing up, but I held her down. I stood up myself, looking down at her.

"Stay out of this for a bit," I said. "This is a matter of the gods."

"Well, why did you clamp your hands over my eyes?" Mary-Ann asked.

"Mr. D took his true godly form," Mercy explained. "The sight alone would kill us."

Mary-Ann looked truly lost. Hermione was going through the crowd, checking that everyone had been able to close their eyes on time. The fact that no one was screaming was a good sign.

But then I heard one girl a few rows behind us. She was a brunette daughter of Aphrodite, sitting with a few of her half sisters. Admittedly, Rhonda is easily the prettiest girl her age, but also one of the cruelest.

"I bet it was Mr. D's daughter that poisoned the goddess," she said to her sisters. They all giggled. Within a few hours, I knew that they would have spread the gossip to the whole camp.


	10. My Brother Mistakes Me for his Brother

**Okay, people. I know it's been forever since I posted, and I'm very sorry. The quest is going to be assigned in the next chapter or two. But, I finally got this one up. I really like Mary-Ann, so I don't know why it took me so long to get this written. And we meet Pollux. Tell me what you think of my portrayal of him. Thanks!**

* * *

Mary-Ann: My Brother Mistakes Me for His Brother

"It is important that you remain absolutely silent when possible on a quest when you think a monster may be stalking you," Hermione told us when she took us out on our miniquest.

"That I can do," Mercy said with a nod.

"Of course _you_ can," Braxton said rather bitterly. It was very obvious that he did not like her. Mostly, I'm pretty sure she felt the same. "You're the child of the god of thieves." He turned to Hermione. "Wouldn't it be better for us to communicate to one another."

"That's another thing," Hermione said. "You need to know your partners' weaknesses and strengths inside and out, so you can know what needs to be done with every enemy you encounter. Say you encounter a Hellhound, Mary-Ann, what would you do?"

"Hide somewhere behind Dawn until she destroys it," I answered, holding the dagger Dawn had given me tightly with both hands. Troy, Mercy, and Hermione all chuckled, while Dawn and Braxton both just turned to stare at me.

"Okay, truthful," Hermione nodded. "I like that. Troy?"

"Get to the side and distract it from the better fighters," Troy said. "Dawn, Mercy, or Braxton would all serve better at killing it if they could get a head up on attacking it."

"Good," Hermione said. She turned to Mercy, who was standing next to me. "Mercy?"

"Try to disable its legs with my throwing knives as someone else goes in for the kill," Mercy said. "Disabling two legs will almost certainly destroy its ability to attack successfully or escape. An easy target." It almost sounded to me like she had done this before.

"Very good," Hermione nodded. "But its still not an _easy_ target, just easier. How about you, Braxton?"

"Well, Troy's distracting it, Mercy's disabling it from a distance, and Mary-Ann's hiding," Braxton said. I blushed a bit at his comment about me hiding. "And I've got a dagger against a huge canine that can bite me in half. Dawn would probably act before me to kill it with either her whip or an arrow. So, I scan the area for other enemies."

I hadn't even thought about the fact that other monsters could be in an area with one already, and I didn't even know what this 'Hellhound' was, which put me at even more of a disadvantage.

"But you're careful to keep the beast in your line of vision, right?" Hermione asked him, lifting an eyebrow. "Because you take your attention off it for one second, and it _will_ bite you in half. Okay, Dawn?"

"I guess I'm killing it," Dawn said. She had a quiver full of arrows, her bow in her hand, and her whip, which I knew was currently disguised as her belt.

"I'm glad you all know exactly what you would do," Hermione said. "Because one is heading this way." And then she practically disappeared before our eyes.

We all jumped to alert, having no idea where it was coming from. I stuck close to Dawn, having full confidence that she wouldn't allow anything to happen to me... or at least Hermione wouldn't let anything happen to her if the Hellhound did get close enough for a kill.

"There," I heard Mercy say, and turned to see where she was pointing. I saw nothing in the tall grass, and any movement could easily be explained by the slight breeze.

"No, there," Dawn said, motioning about 120 degrees west of where Mercy had pointed. I still saw nothing.

"You're both wrong," Braxton said. His eyes were locked on a spot facing away from where Mercy and Dawn had spotted Hellhounds. My eyes still couldn't detect anything that was dangerous.

Troy looked where each had spotted a Hellhound, then audibly gulped. He apparently saw what I couldn't. "All three of you are right," he said. "There are three closing in on us."

Dawn drew an arrow and shot so fast, I didn't really realize she was drawing until I heard it hit something, and a howl. And then I saw what the others were seeing, as all three giant canines pounced from their hiding spots and ran in on an attack. The one Dawn had shot at had an arrow sticking out of his leg, but was still on top of us within a second.

"Down," Braxton yelled, grabbing me by the waist and diving to the ground. I noticed all three others dove as well, and out of the way. Two of the Hellhounds collided, heads into one another.

I heard a whizzing sound, followed by a crunch, and was suddenly showered with gold monster dust. A knife dropped down, landing next to my head.

"Stay behind me, Mary-Ann," Braxton said. I hadn't noticed him even stand, but he stood between me and the Hellhounds, his dagger out. Mercy and Troy were gaging one while Dawn was tangling with the other one left over.

I stood behind Braxton, trying to keep my eyes on both fights at once. That was until a warm breeze blew my hair and back of my neck... only it wasn't a breeze because it smelled of rotting flesh. I knew instinctively that it was a Hellhound. I gripped the dagger I had and spun around, stabbing.

It wasn't until I had already stabbed that I realized that this Hellhound was about the size of the other three combined. The dagger, completely impaled into its nose, probably was merely an annoyance. The bit of gold dust in the breeze told me that one of the other Hellhounds had been destroyed.

The one I had just stabbed growled and barked. The bark alone threw me back, colliding with Braxton, causing him to drop his dagger. Dawn grabbed her belt, but another two barks as the dog advanced threw her down and she dropped both her bow and the whip.

"It's herding us," Troy said. "Trying to get us into a small area to kill us all at once. Stay a little spread out."

"Easy for you to say," I said. "You've still got a sword."

Dawn grabbed the whip and snapped it a few times, hitting the canine from Hades, but not causing any real damage. And then it charged.

Dawn dove one way, but the dog grabbed the whip in its mouth, pulling it from her hands. It turned, and headed at me. I did the only thing I could think to do, and that was curl up into a ball. However, a crack emitted through the air a second time, and then a third. When I opened my eyes, I was being showered in gold canine dust.

"Dawn, I knew I could count on you," I said, turning to my best friend. However, she was staring to the side of me... and not holding the whip. I turned to see Braxton had it in his hands. He looked just as surprised as Dawn.

"You know how to use a whip?" Mercy asked, hands on her hips. There was a deep cut on her left arm.

"Um... I guess I do," Braxton said.

"Well, nice to know you have some talent with some sort of weapon," Mercy said. "If I had known we'd be attacked by Hellhounds without Hermione... hey, where is she anyway?"

Dawn suddenly became panicked. "Mom! Where are you?"

"Something tells me she abandoned us," Braxton said.

"My mother did not abandon us!" Dawn yelled loudly at Braxton. "She's just distracted by something else..." She looked a little uncertain.

"Yeah, like finding more monsters to try to kill us," Braxton said.

"Hey!" Mercy broke up the fight that was about to happen. "There she is!" She pointed to the west, from where Hermione was approaching and fast. By now, I was only slightly shocked by the speed at which she moved, as she was easily going thirty miles an hour. Granted, at the time, the adrenaline from the battle was still coursing through my veins and my mind wasn't able to process any more shocks for the moment.

"Very good work, you four," Hermione said, a smile on her face. Apparently I didn't warrant a recognition. I noticed that her smile seemed more like a mischievous smirk than anything else. Either the others didn't notice it, or they just felt it was normal because no one regarded her quite the way I was. Not that she noticed how I regarded her as Braxton immediately began yelling at her.

"What in Tarturus were you thinking?" he yelled. "We could have easily been killed. "Three mid-sized Hellhounds is dangerous enough, but a mother? You put your own daughter's life in danger, not to mention four others."

"Calm down, Mr. Masters," Hermione said with a dismissive wave of her hand. "I wouldn't have allowed any of you to be killed." She reached into a large pocket at the knee of her pants and pulled out a small tupperware box. She opened it and pulled out a square that looked like a golden brownie. She broke off a piece and handed it to Mercy. "That'll have you healed in no time," she said as Mercy took the golden brownie, and ate it.

"Thanks," Mercy said after chewing and swallowing. She then licked her lips. "I definitely needed that. Glad it was a claw and not a tooth that did that." She looked at the gash in her arm, and I then noticed that it was healing.

"Ambrosia," Troy explained to me as I just stared on. "Food of the gods. Has healing properties, but beware. Eating too much can burn away your humanity and kill you. It's highly deadly to mortals."

"Anyone else hurt?" Hermione asked. No one spoke. "Okay then, we should return to camp."

"That was it?" Dawn asked, disappointed. "I thought we'd at least leave Long Island."

"It's very dangerous out there, Dawn baby," Hermione said, her sad blue eyes looking at her daughter. She placed a hand on Dawn's shoulder. "I'll take you on an adventure, I promise. Just, after we get settled in this new life."

Dawn sighed and nodded, leaning her head against Hermione's arm.

Gossip and whispers followed me when we got back to camp. Another kid had arrived while we were gone, and I hoped that maybe his arrival would draw attention away from me, but instead it had the opposite effect.

"You must be my sister that everyone has been talking about," a voice said from the shadow of the far side of Cabin Twelve when I walked in. I was tired and sweaty and had every intention of taking a shower until I heard that voice and froze. I couldn't see who was talking to me, but his voice was low and I noted a subtle depression, probably because it was the same sadness that my grandparents always spoke with. A sadness that would never go away, but wouldn't necessarily be detected usually.

He stood up, a shadow at first, but then stepped into some light. He was older than I had expected, as I had thought he'd be in his mid teens, but he looked to be about twenty or so. He looked a bit like Mr. D, with a rounded face, but something that seemed to be i the midst of sharpening as he aged. His eyes were dark, as well, a violet color that would have been gorgeous on a girl, but didn't exactly suit him. In fact, the only thing about him that reminded me of anything about myself was the fact that his hair, while blonde, was curly, though I couldn't be sure how curly it was as it was only about two to three inches long at any point.

"You're a small one," he said coming up to me and bending down to my height. "Delicate." He then stood up, towering over me, and ruffled my hair a bit. "Take care of yourself, will you?"

I nodded, not exactly sure what to say to a brother I had never met before.

"Anyway," he took a seat on the bed next to mine and indicated for me to sit on my own. "I'm Pollux, by the way. I hear you're called Mary-Ann?"

I just nodded. My tongue seemed to have stopped working for some reason, which, of course, wasn't the first time it had happened.

"Where are you from then, Mary?"

"It's, uh, Mary-Ann," I said, quietly. "That's what I prefer..."

Pollux smiled, which really lit up his face in a different way. He seemed to have gotten just a bit younger. "Castor just to say that," Pollux said. "I mean, he didn't prefer to be called Mary-Ann, obviously, but people would call him things like Cass, and he'd immediately say what you just said."

I nodded, like I understood what he was talking about. But, really, I had no idea. "So, um, who is Castor?" I tried to wrack my brains for who Castor might have been in Greek mythology. I know that Castor and Pollux rang a bell, but I hadn't memorized the entire mythology. As well, my mind kept skipping to Casper. I assumed that Castor wasn't a friendly ghost.

"Our brother," Pollux said, though all the energy was gone from him. He slumped a little on the bed he was on. "Or, he was our brother. He died a few years ago..."

"Oh, I'm... I'm sorry," I said. I knew that I should have grieved a bit more, after all, it was my brother, but I had never met him.

Pollux turned to look at me. "You remind me of him a little," Pollux said. "A bit awkward, and... did you know you were covered in dirt? What happened. What hot shot ass decided to kick you around when you're so new here?"

"Wha... no!" I said, shaking my head vigorously. "Miss Hermione took me and a few others out to hunt monsters and we ran into some giant dogs that had breath that smelled of rotting flesh." My cheeks flamed red. "I just wasn't any good at fighting it."

"The new counselor took you out to fight Hellhounds without giving you proper weapons training first?" Pollux asked. "What the Hades was she thinking. I could have lost you. Damnit, I can't lose you again!"

I stared at him. "Again?"

Pollux's eyes widened a bit as he suddenly realized his mistake. "I, uh, that wasn't what I meant..."

"Did you just mistake me as Casper... I mean Castor?" I asked. I was slowly remembering the myth of Castor and Pollux. They were the Gemini twins from the Zodiac. One was a demigod and one wasn't. The mortal had died, and just like this time, Castor had died while Pollux lived.

"I, it's not like that," Pollux said. "I just, miss him so much..."

"I have to go," I said. I was backing toward the door. I had to talk to Dawn... or someone. Even Troy or Braxton or even Mercy, before I could really talk to Pollux again. "I will see you at dinner, probably." And then I spun and smacked directly into the doorframe. I immediately knew I had broken my nose.


	11. The Delphic Oracle Immediately Hates Me

**I know, it's been too long. Go ahead, yell at me. Beat me up. But read it first. And then review. And then remember, if you hurt me too much, I won't be able to keep writing.**

* * *

Dawn: The Oracle of Delphi Immediately Hates Me

I arrived to pick up Mary-Ann from her cabin just as the door opened. I had expected her to have showered by then, but instead I found her just as dirty as when we got back to the camp, only now her hand was over her nose and mouth, and there was blood dripping.

"What happened?" I asked loudly. And then I noticed the large guy behind her. I pulled Mary-Ann behind me and pulled my bow out, aiming an arrow at him. "Who are you and what did you do to Mary-Ann?"

He threw his hands up in innocence. "I didn't do anything," he said. "I'm her brother and she... well..."

"I wab clumbly," Mary-Ann said, grimacing in pain.

"Clumbly?" I asked, eyeing her as best I could while still keeping my arrow trained on the guy.

"Look, we should get her to the Big House so Chiron can set her nose and get her some Ambrosia," the guy said. He was definitely too old to be considered a boy. "Our dad would be pissed and immediately assume someone punched her. He'd turn half the camp into Dolphins or something."

"Then you shouldn't have punched her," I said, drawing the string of my bow taut.

"I didn't punch her," he said, his hands still in the air.

Mary-Ann began walking without me. She didn't bother to glance in my direction even. I watched her from the corner of my eye, backing away from the guy that was claiming to be her brother.

"Oh my gods! Dawn," the annoying blonde girl from the Athena cabin came at me yelling at the top of her lungs. "We do not point our weapons at other campers. Apologize to Pollux this instant! And put down your arrow. This isn't the battle arena."

I glared at her as I lowered my arrow. So apparently the guy wasn't someone that broke into camp. I had no intentions of apologizing to him, as I was sure he had done something to Mary-Ann. However, when I turned to where she had been walking off to, she was gone.

"Dawn, where do you think you're going?" the blonde girl questioned me as I began going in the direction my best friend had disappeared to. "There are a lot of camp rules, and just because your mother is now a counselor here does not mean that you are exempt from following them."

"Whatever," I said, and began walking off anyway.

"Dawn, get back here and apologize!"

"It's okay, Annabeth, she was just being protective of her Mary-Ann," I heard Pollux say to her.

People were looking at me as I walked through the camp looking for Mary-Ann. I knew they were whispering behind my back, which wasn't something new to me, being the daughter of a criminal and all. However, their words weren't as much about my mother as I would have liked. I kept hearing people bring up 'red-head' and other words to suggest they were talking about Mary-Ann as well. That was something new, and something I didn't like. And a lot of the talk suggested that Mary-Ann had something to do with Ariadne's sickness, which was absolutely ridiculous. Aside from the fact that Mary-Ann knew so little about gods that she wouldn't be able to find a way to make the woman sick, Mary-Ann felt more affection toward the goddess than she did her own mother and would never do something to harm the woman.

I finally found Mary-Ann at the Big House. She had managed to find it, with the help of Braxton apparently. Chiron had set her nose, but rather than giving her anymore Ambrosia, he had an Apollo camper there, chanting a hymn, his hands emitting a slight glow. Mary-Ann looked entirely uncomfortable with the situation, but sat still, apparently afraid to move.

"Wouldn't Ambrosia work faster?" I asked, sitting down in one of the chairs at the infirmary. Braxton was leaning against the wall, next to the door.

"One would assume," he said. "But seeing as she had some a little over two hours ago, too much more would be bad. Demigods are able to eat it, but only a little bit. So, if there's a way to heal a wound that doesn't involve Ambrosia, Chiron prefers we not try to burn out our humanity."

I looked at Braxton, wondering why he was still there, but didn't question. Instead, I walked up to Mary-Ann and took one of her hands. in both of mine. "What happened, Mary-Ann?" I asked. Her nose wasn't bleeding anymore, and some swelling that I had seen when I first walked in had gone down.

"I was clumsy," Mary-Ann said. Ah, the answer to the 'clumbly' word from earlier. "I spun around into a doorframe."

"Oh, well, I guess I really should apologize to your brother for aiming an arrow at his face," I said with a shrug, releasing her hands. After another few minutes, where her nose looked almost completely back to normal, just a little blue, the son of Apollo left.

Mary-Ann's hazel eyes were glued to the floor. "Lady Ariadne has grown sicker," Mary-Ann said. "Chiron says she may not last much longer than a week."

I frowned just a bit. "That's sad, I guess," I said.

"Yeah, you seem really sympathetic," Braxton said.

"I hardly know the lady, so sorry for not sobbing," I said, rolling my eyes.

"That is no way to speak of any of the gods or goddesses." I heard a voice snap behind me. If it hadn't been for the fact that I knew it wasn't the annoying blonde's voice, I would have thought it was her again. I turned around, and saw what appeared to be Mary-Ann's doppelganger, only a few years older.

"Do I care what you think?" I questioned. Braxton mumbled something that sounded like 'idiot,' but I wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of getting to me.

"Who do you think you are?" the girl asked, clearly offended.

"Excuse me?" I questioned. "Who are you to be questioning that?"

"She's the Oracle," Braxton said. I turned to him, a surprise in my eyes. "Of Delphi." He smiled. "Rachel, meet Dawn Westbrook."

"Hermione's daughter?" the Oracle, or Rachel as was her name, asked. She put her hands on her hips. "Personally, I thought you'd be a bit brighter. That you'd be decent, with some respect." She shook her head. "I guess I was wrong."

"But you're the Oracle," Mary-Ann said, her eyes widening.

"Even I can be wrong," Rachel said. She smiled at Mary-Ann and then approached her, placing a hand on my friend's shoulder. They nearly looked like sisters. "Don't worry, Mary-Ann, right? I have a feeling that Lady Ariadne is going to be okay." Suddenly her eyes widened. "Oh dear..." She staggered backwards into a wall, and then her eyes were glowing green, much greener than could be normal, not to mention glowing.

"Chiron!" Braxton called out, then grabbed the nearest piece of paper and writing tool, which happened to be a crayon._  
_

"_Four unlikely shall travel out west  
All but one shall fail this test  
On a volcano, one shall seek her prize  
Agate and a feather, or a goddess shall die."_

And just like that, Rachel slumped forward, only to be caught by Chiron, who had entered without me even realizing.

"What was that?" Mary-Ann asked, springing off the bed she was still sitting on. Chiron quickly put Rachel in the vacated bed. "She looks sick. Is she going to be alright?"

"She'll be fine," Chiron said. "That was just a prophecy. Happens to her... now and then. But, what's more important..."

"That was a quest," Braxton said. His eyes were shining with excitement.

"And I believe, Mary-Ann, it was for you," Chiron said. "Choose your quest partners well."

Mary-Ann's eyes traveled to meet mine. "Dawn," she said. "Will you come?"

"Of course," I said. I was a little excited. My life before living with my grandmother had been adventurous, but I knew what a quest meant. It had purpose.

"Well, I think I should go as well," Braxton said. He looked at Mary-Ann and she nodded.

"Chiron, who else should I bring then?" she asked him.

"Well, that is not my decision," Chiron said. "But, allow me to ask you this... who do you trust?"

She looked down. "I kind of trust Troy," she said. "I mean..." her eyes traveled to Braxton, and I knew what was going through her head. The other person she could have mentioned would have been Mercy, but Braxton and Mercy pretty much hated one another, and bringing both on a quest would probably be more dangerous to us than whatever dangers we'd run into.

"Then it is settled," Chiron said. "We'll make arrangements for you to leave tomorrow morning."

As soon as my mom heard I was going on a quest, she came by the climbing wall, where I was with the rest of the Hermes cabin, to congratulate me. She pulled me away to help me figure out what to pack.

"I've asked Jake to make you a new quiver," she said. "I know you are adept with all weapons, but the arrow really is your best." She pulled a small leather pouch from her jacket pocket. "It's got a few extra bow strings and some drachmas. I know you'll do great."

I nodded. "Thanks, Mom," I said, hugging her. We had arrived at Cabin Eleven.

"Now, where's your backpack?" she asked. I looked around and finally found it under a blanket. She dumped everything out of it. "I'll keep your stuff in my room until you get back, so my siblings don't try to divide it up amongst themselves." She looked at my things. "You'll need a change of clothes... wear jeans, by the way. A few extra daggers are good." She began putting things into my bag. "I'll get you a canteen of nectar and you'll probably be provided with a bit of ambrosia as well. Cash..." she reached into her pocket and pulled out a small wad of twenties, stuffing that into a side pocket. "You'll want a bottle for water as well. Don't forget to drink plenty of water."

"Yes, Mom," I said, smiling a little. This was the kind of mother-daughter relationships that most girls I knew hated, but the one I had always wanted.

"Let's see... which bow should you take...?" She looked between my two bows.

"My short one fits in my bag," I said.

"Yes, but the long one has better range and power," she said. She then nodded. "It's decided. You'll take the long one."

"Where will I put it?" I asked.

"Why, in your new quiver, of course," she said. She smiled, and I realized it wasn't unique to her. All of Hermes's children had that same smile. "He's making it very tiny, but able to hold countless arrows. Your bow will fit."

"He can do that?" I asked.

"So he claims," Mom said. She began going through my things again. "You'll need a map. Or maps, I suppose."

I smiled a little brighter. "Mom, I'll be fine," I said. I'm experienced... to a certain degree. I mean, I had been training for my first several years. "I was trained by the best, after all."

The biggest difficulty would be keeping the others safe. I knew, that with my group, it would be my responsibility.

"Be safe," she said, and kissed the top of my head.

* * *

**Yay! Finally, the quest. Let's see where it will take our four brave heroes.**


	12. Griffins Train Schedules and Giant Queen

**And so it begins...**

* * *

Braxton: Griffins, Train Schedules, and Giant Queens.

I woke the next morning to the sound of Reis going through my things. She was in my backpack, and half my stuff was next to her on the bed.

"What are you doing?" I mumbled, so the words weren't exactly crisp and clear, but she got the message.

"Oh, half the stuff in here is useless on a quest," she said. She held up a pack of playing cards. "What do you plan to do? Win a hand of poker against a monster for your life?"

"I figured more to pass time on things like busses or trains," Braxton said.

"It's just extra weight," she said. "Plus, it's flammable and if you lose just one, they're useless."

I sighed and fell backwards in my bed. "I've put in some packaged pastries," she said. "In case you're hungry and can't find food. The others will be grateful, but don't just eat them because you feel like eating. Wait until you really need them."

"Have you ever been on a quest before?" I asked even though I knew the answer. No, she hadn't. She had never been given a quest or chosen to accompany anyone that had. "How do you know what I will and won't need?"

"I've wanted to go on one," she said. She stood up and put my backpack down. "You should be honored."

I grabbed my backpack, which was considerably heavier seeing as she had just pulled a ton of its contents out. I looked in. A change of clothes and two daggers. As well, a bag of granny smith apples.

"I figured that you'd want those too," she said. "Now, what are you wearing?"

"A shirt and pants," I said rolling my eyes.

"Obviously." She pointed to the foot of my bed where a pair of my jeans and one of my Camp Half-Blood shirts sat. "And that new belt, right?" she asked.

I looked at the whip, which I hadn't given back to Dawn yet. I knew I should, but it just felt right in my hands. I nodded. "Yes, I will bring it," I said.

"Okay, lets get you breakfast and then I'll see you off," she said, standing up and walking out, allowing me to change in privacy. I grabbed the playing cards and stuck them back into my bag.

At precisely nine, I met Dawn, Mary-Ann, and Troy at the top of Half-Blood Hill. Hermione was there, along with Chiron. "Here is Ambrosia for you all," he said, giving us each a small tupperware of the godly food. "And nectar. Remember, it can kill you."

"Okay, Argus is going to take you to the nearest train station," Hermione said. "You'll be on your own from there." She bent forward and kissed Dawn on the forehead.

We were all sort of silent in the car ride. There wasn't much to say. Once we were dropped off, we began to question if any of us knew what we were doing.

"Well, we have to go west," Dawn said. "Right?"

"Where can we get agate?" Mary-Ann asked.

"You didn't look that up yesterday?" I asked, lowering my eyes at her.

"Well, I was a little preoccupied," she said. She turned away, her cheeks going red. Dawn wrapped an arm over Mary-Ann's shoulders and pulled her close.

"Griffin eggs," Troy said after a moment of silence.

"What?" Mary-Ann asked.

"Griffin eggs are made of agate," Troy explained. "I mean, there are other ways to get agate, but the griffin eggs hold magical properties. Other forms of agate may not be strong enough to cure Ariadne."

"But doesn't it become normal egg shell when the griffins hatch?" Dawn asked.

"Then we need to get an unhatched griffin egg," I said. "That'll solve the feather as well."

"Griffins don't ever shed their feathers," Dawn said, hands on her hip. "You really think we should pluck its feather and steal its egg?"

"We can solve that on our way there," Mary-Ann said. It was the first time I heard her speak with any kind of authority. "We only have a week, and we don't have a clue where a griffin lives."

I cleared my throat. "That, actually isn't true," I said. "I have a pretty good guesstimate." I smiled. "So, let's hop a train toward Montana."

"Why Montana?" Mary-Ann asked.

"Because, that's where I was when I saw a griffin last year," I said. Dawn opened her mouth to protest, but I didn't give her time. "I know they can travel fast, but I doubt that they're all that fast."

"Plus, they don't tend to wander too far from their nests if they don't have to," Troy said. I pointed at him.

"See," I began speaking again, "so, if I saw it in Montana, it probably lived not too far from where I saw it."

"And if it was a male griffin?" Dawn asked. She narrowed her blue eyes at me. "And aren't you from Montana? Are you sure you don't have ulterior motives to go there?"

"Let's just get going and buy tickets to Montana," Mary-Ann said. "We don't have much time."

Dawn nodded. "She's right." She turned to Mary-Ann. "It is your quest. You lead. How do we get to Montana?"

Mary-Ann thought for a moment. "By train," she said.

"Tickets can get expensive," Dawn said.

Mary-Ann bit her lip. "Then we'll sneak on" she said. Dawn smiled and I was not exactly pleased with the thought. Sneaking on train was probably what Dawn had been hoping for, her mother being a train-robber and all.

As it was, sneaking onto a train was even harder than I had thought it would be. First, we had to find a train heading to Montana. The nearest one was four stations away. Getting on that train was easy, but when the attendant came toward us to charge us, we realized that we'd have to pay.

"It shouldn't be too much," I said as he was three rows away. "We did get some money."

"I say we save that for when there are no other options," Dawn said. She looked at Mary-Ann, and it occurred to me that Dawn was really calling the shots.

"It's your choice, Mary-Ann," Troy said. "But decide quickly."

She looked at me. "Anyway you could cause a distraction that would help us avoid having to pay?"

I sighed. It was easy enough. I looked around and noticed someone drinking a still steaming thermos of coffee. And across the aisle from him was a large man and a girl. I concentrated on the guy with the thermos. He lightly blew at it, until I finally reached into him. His eyes glazed over with a rage and he tossed the contents of his thermos at the couple across the aisle. Luckily I didn't need to continue to work on the large man, because being purposely splashed with hot coffee was enough to enrage him. He yelled, standing, pushing the shocked girl out of his way and launched himself at the guy, now confused about his actions. The train attendant ran to stop them.

"Move up a few rows," Dawn said, leading the way up a few rows. We changed the way we were sitting, and Mary-Ann ducked a little low, as her red hair was an attention drawer.

By the time the attendant had calmed the two and gotten back to his money collection, he didn't take noticed that we had moved past the point he had been at. The fact that we weren't the only ones to do that more annoyed me than anything.

We had to wait a few hours for our next train. There were no direct trains to Monana, so we were catching the next train with a major west destination. It would take up to Cleveland. We could have taken a bus, but it would have taken days and we didn't really have days to spare. So, while we waited, we went to a bookstore down the street and started on some research.

Walking in, the front looked like a normal used bookstore. However, the woman running the store smiled oddly at us as we walked in. Mary-Ann walked up to her nearly immediately. "Do you have any books on Griffins?" she asked.

The woman cocked her head. "Why on Gaea would you want to read up on Griffins?" the woman asked. I realized, as she stood at least a half foot over six feet, that this woman was one of the largest I had ever seen. Aside from being so tall, she also had the body-type that would have called herself 'big boned.' She wasn't exactly fat, but she was no super-model, that was for sure.

"School project," Dawn said, though she was looking at the maps near the front of the store. "You guys go ahead. I'll catch up."

"Follow me this way," she said. She began walking into the store, but led us right past the mythology section. I was about to say something when she opened up the back room, revealing hundreds of books, these much older, and more authentic than mortal mythologies. "I assume you can find something here," she said.

"Definitely," Troy said with a nod. "Thank you."

I sighed. I was definitely not a fan of reading. Dyslexia kind of ruins it for you. Mary-Ann had a face showing that she felt pretty much the same way. But, she charged forward, not allowing a little annoyance get in her way. The three of us spread out to different corners of the room, naturally knowing that we had to cover more ground.

Upon reaching an actual bookshelf, I was surprised, and a little relieved, that the books were actually written in Greek. Which mean, though I'd only had a few Greek lessons, I was naturally able to read the books more easily than if they were in English.

Of course, nothing in my section had anything about griffins, or any other creature for that matter. Though I did come across one about supernatural sickness, ones that could affect gods and goddesses. As Ariadne was sick, I figured this would be a good book to use to look for actual cures which used agate as an ingredient. I pulled it out and turned to find Mary-Ann was already sitting at a table.

"I think my dyslexia is cured," Mary-Ann said. She had three books in front of her, one opened.

"Why do you think that?" I asked, sitting across from her.

"Because I can read," Mary-Ann said. Her eyes were racing across the lines. "Like, it's easy for me suddenly."

"That's because it's Greek," I said. Her eyes shot up to me, hazel orbs wide.

"It's... what?" she asked. "But I don't know how to read Greek."

"It's been hard-wired into your brain, Red," I told her. "That's why most Half-Bloods have dyslexia. They were born to read Greek." I motioned to the book. "Look closer at it, at one specific letter."

She looked down, concentrating, before gasping. "I can read Greek."

"Yes, you can," I said.

"Anyway, I was thinking," Troy said, walking over. "Washington state isn't far from Montana, relatively speaking."

"Okay," I nodded.

"Mt. St. Helen is a volcano," Troy said.

I shook my head. "That's a little too far from where I saw it," I said.

Troy frowned. "Where's there a volcano near Montana?"

"Yellowstone," Mary-Ann said. "It's a giant, super volcano." Troy and I both turned to look at her. "What? I might have been failing science, but I'd pass ecology if my school offered it." She flipped a page. "I mean, it would destroy most of the United States if it ever did erupt, but it is an active volcano. Thus all the geysers."

"So, we have to search an entire National Park in under a week," I said.

"Maybe we're supposed to split up," Mary-Ann said. "After all, the prophecy said all but one would fail. So, we split up and one of us will find it."

"And when you are attacked my a monster while you're on your own?" I questioned her.

"I, uh... yeah, you're right, stick together." She sighed.

"We have to go," Dawn said, walking into the room. She looked a little panicky.

"What, but our train doesn't leave for another hour and a half," Troy said.

"Yeah, we wouldn't want to sneak on too early or we'll be caught," Mary-Ann said.

"And we'll never make it if we get eaten by the Laestrygonian that runs this book shop," Dawn said.

"The what?" Mary-Ann asked, her eyes going wide.

"It's a man-eating giant," Dawn said.

"And it's favorite treat is Half-Blood," I said. I opened my bag and pulled out one of my daggers. I slipped the book I had grabbed inside.

"Do you think we could sneak past her?" Mary-Ann asked. Troy grabbed one of her books and slipped it into his own bag.

Dawn surveyed the room. "Not unless we can climb through the window," she said. There was one small window near the top of the room. Dawn dropped her bag and began to climb the book shelves to get to it. Once she reached it, she began struggling with the lock. "It's rusted shut," she said.

"Well hurry up and unrust it," I said. However, before she could actually get any more headway on the window, the woman burst into the room. This time, knowing what we were about to face, I saw her for what she was. A huge, brutish woman, and what appeared to be a toy tiara slanted and caught in her wild hair. I noticed her name tag said Mormo, which meant she was more than just a Laestrygonian. She was their queen.

"Naughty, naughty, Half-Blood, children," she said, and grabbed at me. I slashed at her with my dagger, but missed. I didn't want to get any closer to her than I had to. She closed the door behind her, essentially locking us in the room with her. It didn't exactly lend a lot of room for fighting, and without having really learned how to use the whip, I couldn't really use it cause I'd probably hit Mary-Ann, Troy, and Dawn as much as Mormo. In fact, I was likely to even hit myself.

* * *

**Please review! I'd love to hear your opinions on this so far.**


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